Quotation of the Year!

So while reading Connie's Blog in my midst of procrastination I ran across her Christmas Tradition blog. Now Connie always gives me reasons to laugh, she is witty to say the least and her blogs reflect her wit. But this has to be the best quotations of her interactions with her Brother, Carter, ever!

Carter: What's the Clapper?

Connie: You know. Clap on, *clap clap* clap off.

Carter: Oh.

Carter: I thought it was the clap.

Carter: I was like "they can sell that kind of stuff?"

Sometimes you just have to read the full story.

Book of the Season!

So I have noticed that my time to read really opens up every year when my parents run off into the wild for a week and I don't get any nagging phone calls, text messages or emails about stupid stuff. Or lately my mother's favorite... 4am signatures for contracts that "just have to" be signed.

So last year I read from the Twilight Series... Eclipse and Breaking Dawn

This year... the reading book of choice is:

The movie was really moving... I would know I have seen it 4 times. And so I just had to buy the book.

Sick...

Sometimes I wonder why I do it to myself... is it because I have head sick disease that just makes me cheat the system that is my body and put junk into it that just ends me on the floor of the bathroom at 2 in the morning tossing up whatever I ate hours before. I personally think its because the world has lots to offer and its only fun if you enjoy it all. And well. they have yet to design a gluten free sugar free puff patry. And that means no croissants, no pretty tarts or desserts and well... nothing fun in life... and so I did it. This holiday season I was cranky and toilet friendly the entire season because I ate stuff that I knew I shouldn't have drank sugared up soda and enjoyed myself. Except at night. It was worth it in the moment, but the headaches, the tummy aches and overall raw throat makes me wonder... why am I sitting here with a butterscotch lollipop when I know its going to get to my head and my stomach at the same time. I hate allergies, I hate having diseases and I hate the fact that a miracle will have to happen before I can live to see a cure for my disease.

Christmas Smishmas...

This year I decided to be a good girl and do what my mother told me to do... and I will forever regret it and mother will forever never hear the end of it.

I was a bridesmaid in a wedding that was last minute planned... last minute invited and just last minute everything... and this is why when I have my big grande wedding I plan on taking my sweet time planning every detail out.

It was horrible. This had to be the worst wedding ever and it was on Christmas Day! That alone should have given it some browning points. But nope... this is the worst Christmas ever... this even beats on Xmas 2002 when I was in a foreign country that didn't even give school off on Christmas because it was a European Holiday they said and not something they really celebrated which sucked for me since I was at school and Christmas was a sham! This one was just plain dreadful.. between the freezing cold and the boringness of tradition... I now mark 2009 as the worst Christmas of my life... plus I had to wake up at 6am for it!

Yes, I Need to Clean my Desk

Yes, it is true, I need to clean my desk. I once did work and studied on this desk... and somewhere along the way B got me into doing work in bed... and so I started working in bed and my desk became like this... yeah... that is productivity at its finest right here!

I Am in Theater, Therefore I Am Surrounded By Drama

I am in Theater... which means I love to perform on the stage. Performing anywhere is fun... but on the stage is a world on its own. I am surrounded by Drama... its not always stage drama either...

I recently performed in, "A Christmas Carol", the musical, based on the beloved Charles Dickens novel. It was fun, however... now I know why nobody returns to this company to perform. It's dramatic and unprofessional to say the least.

I was apart of this company last season in High School Musical 2: Live on Stage, and I thought, it was a good time, dramatic, but still it was fun. And I thought, this is a big performance for them. This is their 10th year doing it. I was a little curious as to why nobody from the previous years were apart of the cast this year except for children, and I figured it out! Nobody wants to work with Dan after the disaster of a show he puts on. In the first show I did with him, it was classified as children's theater in my opinion. So I gave it the benefit of the doubt... this time around. This show just sucked. I had a speaking role, and I had some fun performing, and I loved the cast (most anyways), but the choreographer was a witch and the director was just not on his game and neither was the producer. This was an unprofessional environment if I ever saw one. With backstage throw downs, foyer fights and a failed attempt at lying to the cast over and over and over. We have closet alcoholics, and interesting theories. I made some new fabulous friends, and I will forever be great ful for that. But I have also learned the lesson, that some companies are just burn out companies.

Reconnecting... #1

Recently I have been given the opportunity to reconnect with friends and I am taking it for all that its worth. Amy is the first person on my list of friends from afar that I was able to reconnect with. I have not seen her since December 2006... amidst the finals that we were suffering through, it was December 14 that was the last time I saw her. We were friends while at school in VA... she was a finishing school, I was just starting. She was the RA... I was friends with a girl on her floor. And I lived in the house down the street with 2 friends that were purely VA friends. I loved Amy, she was so sweet and nice and really a person I could look up to at the bright eyed age of 17. And I was sad when I moved back to CA, and she well... grew up. Finds out the through the world of mormon blogging... that she had moved to CA only 18 months ago and was about to move back to TX with her husband! Her husband! She got married, and I knew about it from facebook, she had a baby... knew about that from facebook also. I sent her messages and facebook comments and she did the same thing for a long time. And finally, after a little careful blog reading it dawned on me that she was but an hour away from me! 1 hour! And so I decided on a whim to call her and meet up! And it was the best decision ever. We both regret not know the other was so close, but it was worth a couple hours of bonding and hopefully another spur of a future relationship building. I miss Amy... and check out her blog.

This is baby Mina in her carseat sleeping. I can't believe Amy is a mommy... she was meant to do this job!

I learned about maturity and friendship and commitment from Amy when I was in VA... and here in CA... she taught me how to tear a phone book in half.. the lessons will never end.

Obsessive Sale Shopper

Ever since I started working for a baby store and started college at Cal... I have become very poor. And very frugal and very obsessed about sales. I love to sale shop and I think the customers who come to our store are crazy since we rarely hold amazing sales, things are not cheap (unless you get a discount), and stuff is just pricey in general. We sell everything under the sun, but its not like they are amazing and you can't find this stuff for cheaper somewhere else. Because trust me, you can. Heck, even I find better deals at target for the same stuff. Well, now that I have taken a liking to thrifty shopping from pure college student poorness, I have become obsessed with making it work to my benefit. IE... get things free.

There are million of rebates, coupons and deals and steals out there and now I am even shopping for friends to help them save money! For instance, I bought $500+ dollars worth of toys this past Thursday, and it only cost $68 plus tax. Yeah, you heard me right. Say hello to santa! Well, at least for the toy drive kids.

I also learned where things are just useless to buy on sale. And why having a family makes it easier to sale shop. When I am married, I will have the super pantry and storage of things my family will need. With a Food Saver, coupons and newspaper in hand, I plan on raising a family on name brands (non generics), organic healthy foods, for a very low cost so that our savings will one day be 20% and not just the average american 5%. Now all I need is a husband and 2.4 children and possibly a medium sized dog lol. Oh the future!

Anyone in need of toys?

Off...

I have been off the last week. After the whole thanksgiving feast and after thanksgiving feast, and weekend movie and junk food feast, I lost 6 pounds. Pretty much because through it all, I have barely had a couple bites here and a couple bites there. It's been interesting. I have a want to eat when I see it, but once I take a couple bites, I am super full and just want to push it away. I eat little by little throughout the day, but it took me 4 meals to finish my thanksgiving dinner plate. And it wasn't even that much food. Same happened when I was in vegas, it took me forever to finish a bowl of soup.

Since Monday, I have had the following things to eat, 1 Chipotle Rice bowl, 1 bowl of fried rice, 1 bowl of potato leak soup, 4 string cheeses, 3 cups of hot cocoa, 9 mini egg rolls, a little bit of popcorn, 4 slices of ham, 1 serving of chicken nuggets, 2 bowls of cereal, 7 nut thins, 9 pieces of romaine lettuce and am currently trying to swallow down a serving of green beans and a 2 servings of potatoes. [Update... I threw away the green beans... only because I had no dog to feed them too... there goes my only source of vitamins for the day...]

Thats all I have had to eat in 6 days. It's pathetic, I have a fridge full of food, and its just kind of sitting there now. I have had to reheat the potatoes twice already. Will need to do the same to the chicken nuggets.

It makes me worried something is up... the last time this happened I was sick for months and spending time in oncology. I just need to eat!

On a positive note, I have lost 16lbs in the last 2 months.

Being Thankful

Mom: I am thankful for having my family here for dinner and to be able eat all this food and have a happy life and job during a very bad economic year.

Me: I am just happy I got to be a Berkeley student during a new era of protesting and riots.

Mom: Why?

Me: Because whats the point of paying for Berkeley if you are not a protesting tree hugging hippie? I can't graduate during an era of education and reform, thats just so unBerkeley.

Thanksgiving dinner...

Dad: Are you sure we are celebrating Thanksgiving?

Me: Yes... don't you see all this food?

Dad: I thought we eat what the indians and pilgrims ate.

Me: We are...

Dad: The only thing I see on this table from the first Thanksgiving is Corn... and its not even on a cob

Me: Didn't we buy a salad too?

Happy Thanksgiving! NO really...

Last year for thanksgiving we had the following menu:

Honey Baked Ham

Betty Crocker Instant Mashed Potatoes

Stove Top Turkey Stuffing

French's Green Bean Casserole

Kraft Mac and Cheese

Corn from a can

Pillsbury Croissants

Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce (Jelly)

Sugared Sweet Potatoes

Canned Gravy

This year we had:

Honey Baked Ham

Homemade Mashed Potatoes

Sizzling Green Beans

Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole

Gluten Free Gravy

Canned Gravy

Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce

Stove Top Stuffing

Home Made Gluten Free Stuffing

Kraft Mac and Cheese

Gluten Free Velveeta Mac and Cheese

Safeway Dinner Rolls

Pillsbury Croissants

Gluten Free Rosemary Dinner Rolls

Homemade Sweet Potato Casserole

Flash Frozen Resteamed Corn

Hmm.... is it me or did we just get like 10 more side dishes compared to last year? During an economic fall out shouldn't we be eating less?

I'm An Incompleter

Definition: I seem to never stick to 1 journal... or one blog.

It concluded to me after reading my friend Connie's blog, that I am not a sticker. I stick to writing all the time. But I never stick to just one place. I started my first private journal at age 7. Still today, that journal has only 7 pages written in it. I have a very wide series of unfinished novels, half started journals and 8 or 9 blogs floating around the internet with only 1 or 2 posts in them because I can't for the life of me remember when the last time I posted was and what the password or even blog name is. I also have a series of random AIM screennames I can't remember either. The only consistent thing is my 1 myspace page that I have not visited since 2008 and my 1 facebook page that gets visits every 4 weeks or so. Even my calmail I rarely check. Man... no wonder I seem like a lazy overachiever. To the outside world... I have all this stuff going on... but in reality... I think I am just an incompleter.... I seem to just quit when it gets too boring! But I am changing that! Life may get dull... but there is always some crazy who thinks your life is more interesting then your own... so blog about it!

Plus this helps me keep in touch with a million and one friends around the world.... or more like acquaintances who I believe really have some minimal interest in what I am doing with my life.

When Your Addiction Will Kill....

So I was stupid enough to run errands for Thanksgiving and hit up Whole Foods Today and on my way back, I decided to get off the main road and drive through the little road by the Alta Bates Hospital where as we know all the drunk kids end up. Well, as I was by the stop sign, I saw a guy like this:

He was more worst off looking. This guy was in the gown that shows your butt, and hooked up to 4 IVs and standing out there in the blistering cold SMOKING! He was shaved bald and looked like he was dying but he was smoking a cigarette. If it were weed or something, I might have understood, but he was just standing there smoking his cig like it was another day and he wasn't hooked up to 4 IVs and holding on to a metal pole.

It kind of dawned on me just how addictive this stuff is. I mean, when you can't heal in a hospital without smoking one... you know you have a problem. I don't smoke cause I think its gross, I never probably will. My bestie and my brother smoke and some of my other friends do it on occasion but the whole process doesn't appeal to me. It grosses me out and I purposely make a gagging noise when I smell the tobacco scent that is glued to my brother and his girlfriend after they go out and smoke at 2 in the morning when its 20 below freezing outside.

When I was more juvenile than I am now, I would walk by smokers in public and making this coughing up a lung sound. I would start gagging pretty much and making it sound like I was choking for air because of the smoke, hoping that would give them the hint. I don't really see cigarette commercials on tv anymore, but yet, people still smoke all the time. When is this going to be something that phases out? Smoking is never going to have a medical purpose. It's going to kill you faster than it will ever help you. So why is it that people still smoke?

I think I heard this in a movie or a tv show sometime in the last 48 hours that I have been on a tv watching craze... "One day... that's the time I lose with you every time you smoke a cigarette... one less day I will spend with you."

It's sad, but its true. Smoking takes life off... so why do people still do it? And in some people's case... lie about it.

Las Vegas Baby!

This is the real birthday party! This was 1 year in the planning and it turned out to be the best birthday ever... more than I could have imagined and it was worth every missed day of rehearsal, school and every lost penny! I loved this 4 day weekend with my big sisters and my mom came along for the ride.

Grand Canyon- This was the first adventure of the trip. This place was breath taking and we hiked for 2 hours, but it wasn't like it was more than a giant pile of rocks.

This is when the party started... my sisters arrived... here I am opening the door to our PENTHOUSE!

This is the first night out with my sisters, we went to the Bellagio for dinner at Noodles.

In front of the Bellagio with "Paris" in the background. Its a beautiful sight with my beautiful sisters!

Hello Mile High Bellagio fountain of greatness!

Hello Noodle... say hello to belly.

Good Morning Champagne! Apparently a morning is not morning without Mimosa. Champagne and Orange juice... isn't this considered alcoholism to drink this early?

Posing for the Mimosa... Cheers!

Everyone loves a mimosa!

Eating Breakfast at Bellagios Buffet, this was sickening how much we ate, and boy did we enjoy it. I have never had so much raw fish in one sitting without worrying about the tab! And this is after mimosa... once again, I repeat... drinking problem!!!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

I am officially 21 today! Yep, 21. You heard that right, I can now rent a car (plus the extra fees), and buy alcohol (although I haven't bought any cigarettes yet and that was 3 years ago). 21 is a good age to be... for well... the whole purpose of saying, hey! I am 21. Life is interesting, I have fun and I really enjoy being able to have fun without the use and abuse of alcohol even though with fraternities and sororities surrounding me it should be a driving force. Anyways, this year, 21 means lots of fun. GO CAL BEARS!

This year on my birthday was the Cal football game, and I got food, fun and a winning football game! And my best friend came up for the game. It was slow, but super fun and I really enjoyed the day even though it was chill and not full of excitement, I did have a birthday party, where everyone in my ward who has a November Birthday came together to celebrate at the same time.

BB decorated my side of the room for my birthday. Aren't these my colors?

Say Hello to a very big CAL fan and her best friend Missy. I love the cal gear I had on. Socks, Shirt, Sweater, Scarf and Face Tattoos.

We tried to take one of those awkward family photos where everyone is solemn and has awkwardly placed hands, and well... it didn't work. The crowns signify that we are November Birthday people.

We had an arousing game of twister.

It's Not Game Day Without Kettle Korn

A new discovery has dawn upon a new tradition between EmJ and I. We love to munch, and we love junk. We are in college and we love sports and fun. So we spend a lot of time together going out to eat. I mean the basis of our relationship is over food. Thats where it started and thats where we continue our bond. We love food and our new tradition if Cal football and popcorn!

Since the first game that we went to this year, we eat junk. Its tradition. Two things we have to have every game is popcorn of some sort and soda. Not any soda, but the $5 huge plastic “souvenir” cup of soda that you get only at Cal games. These are cups that we keep talking about keeping but never actually do.

Our new tradition, now that the season is coming to a close that we promise to continue next year is Gold Rush Kettle Korn. They serve this stuff on Calapalooza, at many cal events and especially al Cal football games. We love it! This stuff is like gold for gluten free eaters also because its good, its sweet and salty and its gluten free!

EmJ and I love the stuff and we are going to make sure we walk up the stadiums steps to the food booths at the top of the colosseum from now on so that we can enjoy the good eats that come with the hike. We love it and we love eating it and I think its a tradition that should be long shared forever. This is Cal Football! And this is Kettle Korn territory.

---- We happened to lose this game against Oregan State, but we had fun going to it and that was what mattered to us most. We got to put on Cal face tatoos and have a blast in the blistering cold weather as we sipped cold soda, ate popcorn, and other lovely junky delights. Another winning day with being best friends!

The Drinking Dilemma...

I love my friends, I love to party, and I love to be social, but sometimes, there draws a line with where one can loving and fun and where one needs to draw a line. Last night would be one of them. Not but an hour ago, paramedics came and took away a dear friend of mine who was so drunk that she was found under a car talking to herself in front of a fraternity. I rolled into my room around 12am on Friday, after kicking off another party weekend with "Thirsty Thursday". I must of been in my room for no more than 20 minutes, when suddenly there was a knock on the door and a frantic Molly was at the door worried and looked pale as a ghost. Turns out our dear friend from the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority Barbie, went out for her Freshman kidnapping by her sisters from her sororities and was dragged home by Molly after she received a call to come pick up Barbie. Barbie came back to the dorm, so drunk that she couldn't barely walk, and when they got her into the room, she was throwing up everything in their bathroom. She was falling unconscious and barely breathing at a certain point and finally the RA on call had to call the paramedics to who needed to haul her to the hospital for treatment because she was really that sick.

Molly and Kelly who share the room with Barbie cleaned up after Barbie when she left and I went to get Barbie's cell phone and sweater so that when I went to pick her up she wouldn't be freezing. I watched as the paramedics took Barbie away from my window and she looked so ashamed of it all. She was covering her face as they put her in the ambulance, as if people would see her face and shake their heads. I called every hour on the hour to check up on Barbie in the hospital and see if she needed to be picked up when she was discharged. Turns out that she was there for about 5 hours before I went to pick her up from the hospital. I remember being her at one time, the social drinker who loved her vodka a little too much. But I drank to forget sometimes, and I drank so that I would be more loose. Now I know the affects of alcohol and don't want to drink, but thats my own thing.

The hours following Barbie's return to the dorm and the morning after the whole debacle, gave a new side to Barbie to everyone who thought they were close to her. She truly believed that she would have to walk home from the hospital, which gave me insight into who she believed her friends were. And the following moments, she was rude and disrespectful to the people who were there for her during her hours of need, who felt at loss when they could not seem to make her feel better. It changes your perspective on people when they shun the very people who showed true commitment (and if I dare to say Love) for their friend.

Alcohol will always have its affects on people, especially college students who don't know how much to drink or where to draw the line. Especially those who are drinking underage. These are our golden years, our years to empower our spirits of independence, to discover who we are and to make lasting friendships for the rest of our lives. We will all learn the consequences of our mistakes and the benefits of our sober thinking.

The drinking dilemma makes me wonder... what is college life without the alcohol? Molly swears off drinking for a while now after the whole Barbie debacle, she was truly scared and I don't think she wants to feel that way again, a helpless feeling where you want to help, but are at an end to the road. Barbie is angry at what she called an "over reaction" to her drunkenness.

Personally... I think time and some sober time off will teach everyone a lesson about the abuse of alcohol and when its just fun versus when its alcoholism.

Does anyone believe college kids have a higher alcohol abuse rate than any other age group?

A Halloween Extravaganza!

Our ward had its annual Halloween extravaganza and Haunted House. This years theme being: "The Mystery of Hearst Mansion"! It was a blast, even though I missed the first 3 hours of the party, and the haunted house. And didn't really have any of my "crew" from last year. But I had some of my new friends and it was a blast either way! I had a North House party that night, but I missed it due to my celiacs conference (which you will get a review from later), but I stopped by the show my infamous costume and invite people out to dance and party!

I wanted to show off my costumes fun "text".

After meeting up with some friends, we headed up to the Hearst Mansion and partied. It was fun, and I met up with a bunch of church friends and further enjoyed my party experience.

My soldier and I had fun... we are carpool buddies and its a blast spending time with her. Poor thing had been setting up since 6pm and around 11pm her cell phone battery was dead and so was she, by 12.30, she was gone.

Some of my friends had fun dancing! It was a bunch of fun either way!

I found myself a bunch of grapes!

One polygamist, wolverine and robin hood... what a group! The polygamist family actually won the best costume contest... thank you thank you.... it was my idea that they do that as a group costume and it was a hit!

And to round off the night, I found my technological companion! A calculator to a cell phone... the two things every college student needs!

Needless to say... I had a blast, I was tired and ready to die when the night rolled over to morning, but it was fun and I am glad I got out and enjoyed myself!

Celiacs Conference

Today was the night that S and I were looking forward to the most. It was the Celiacs Cook Off competition on Treasure Island. Of course this also happened to be during the same week that the Bay Bridge cable broke dooming us to traffic hell for the two hours as we made our way to the conference. We drove the very long way to the event and it was the world’s biggest pain ever! But after 2 hours in the car and being 1.5 hours late to the event, we made it, and we enjoyed it and we ate until we could eat no more. Along with bringing home a truck full of treats. I took every freebie imaginable and stocked my food storage up. This was the best idea ever and the best event.

We tasted some amazing food and got to eat with no worries of cross contamination. It was a gluten free event that we got to enjoy and we loved it! There was also gluten free alcohol! Which of course drove us wild! S and L went with me to the conference. S and I are both Celiacs while L used to eat gluten free and now is off the restrictions. But she understands the boat we are in and she is okay with eating gluten free, even if she knows how to enjoy the good stuff.

L and S got to enjoy some major alcohol consumption without ID being checked. It started with asking for Lemonade and ending up with Hard Lemonade, but the girls were not complaining and we each got to walk out of the conference with some gluten free, very tasty, pear flavored beer. The bad thing about this stuff though is that it tastes so good and masks the flavor of alcohol so well... that you will drink it so fast that you will get drunk before it even hits you hard.

We got to do a lot of food tasting, and that was tons of fun, and that was the main reason we went... to eat. But we walked away with a lot of junk food and we got a goody bag that was well worth the price we paid for the ticket. Gluten free food is expensive in itself... and for us to get an all you can eat buffet with open bar and tons of junk... along with a goody bag piled high... its well worth the $35 ticket... I walked home with $60 in free cookies myself... and thats not including the other crap I got for free! I also found a ton of awesome foods that I can eat that I love and taste good. Which is rare.

Some new favorites of mine are Froose Juice, Boar’s Head Meat, and St. Dalfour.

Happy Pumpkin Carving!!!

I got to spend time with D this past week, its been forever! How do two best friends survive being away from each other for so long? We don't, it was like the reunion from the movies where you run and hug and leap into each other's arms. Its hard being away from your best friend for so long. But this is an essential part of growing up. You know who your real friend are and no matter the circumstances, you will be together through the end of time!

And since her work had a bonding activity, they did bonding through carving. And so we carved pumpkins, I decided to go with my address as a jack- 0- lantern.

Cal Game Day!

Today was Cal game day! Washington State versus Cal in a heated game where we just squished them to pieces. But the real reason this was worth blogging was because it was the first game day that EmJ and I have had together where we were fierce Cal fans and not working the games.

It was our first Cal game! Who would of thought it would take us this long to attend such an event! We have learned that we are fierce Cal game fans! We love our school, and we have the broken voices to prove it. Another fun tradition that will cost us in the end... food. We love the food at Cal games. Today particularly, we decided to just go all our and eat what we wanted when we wanted. The game was a particularly early game at 2pm, and we were slow to start. We wanted face tattoos, but didn’t find them, and we instead settled for beads and Cal colors.

It was a nice fall day that was warm and not freezing which was nice. We also ingested copious amounts of junk food. EmJ and I shared a pink lemonade that didn’t cover our thirst... and then we started with food by ingesting Dibs! Really yummy, not all that great on a chilly day. But they were delicious and neither one of us ate before the game. Then we moved on to carmel popcorn, nachos, a hot dog and we split a soda. Nachos were cold and sucked, carmel popcorn we ate and ate and it never seemed to end, and the soda we swore would have to be purchased every game no matter what! Something dawned on us though... we spent $29 on food between the two of us and we still went out to eat afterwards and ate sushi! Food is expensive! Especially at the game!

But we loved it and we loved that we won the game. EmJ and I will go to another game this season and we swore to get Alumni tickets the following season. We plan on planning things out a little more the following game, but it was fun and that was what counted.

Also something trivial... all along the path to the game, nobody cares about traffic, (which if you are smart, don’t drive in Berkeley on game days), and every club, sorority, and fraternity on campus is selling $1 water bottles on the path to game. Which by the time you make it to the stadium you are wishing you bought their off brand water bottles for $1 instead of huffing and puffing up the steps to the concessions to pay $4.50 for the name brand Dasani. However... rarely do people really drink water at sporting events... whats the point in that when you have beer and soda?

Ej and I have dubbed junk food, soda, loud cheering and going out to eat afterwards our new tradition for Cal game day!

The MALL...

So there is one place that every girl loves, one sanctuary that is designed especially for us! It is called... "THE MALL"... duh dah duh! Angels Choir Please sing....

The only people who hate the mall are people who "know" they have no self control and have no money, and people who just don't care about fashion. And we see those people everyday on reruns of... "What not to wear".

So as we walked through the mall this past week, a few friends and I walked by a couple making out in one of the many "nooks" that we have at our local high end retail mall. I made some comment that they really need to stop making out because they are ruining the amazing place that is supposed to be a sanctuary for people, the coveted mall, where girls can get away from relationship drama, spend time with best friends, shop, watch a movie, eat loads of junk and feel entirely in their sanctuary.

So a friend of mine made this snarky comment to me:

"I realize that this place is some kind of holy Mecca of consumerism to you but to everyone else, it’s just a place to shop and hang out and on occasion sneak in a little “private” time".

Gross. I would prefer the mall to be my sanctuary away from home where no matter where in the world I am I can find a mall and be home again.

Oh my coveted, "South Coast Plaza", how I miss you and I wish there was something even remotely close to you in Northern California.

Celiacs Disease

Remember how I said I wanted to love my life? So I think I can say I really have reason to love my life. I have been through heck this past month with my celiacs disease being (What I felt), the end of the world. I was having complications from celiacs disease which I later learned that, if not careful can kill you! Uhhhh... story of my life!

I love my life now, because I have everything under control, but have you ever felt like your body is slowly falling apart? I need to hit up the gym.

Project: "Love My Life"

So I was reading on another one of my favorite blogs about a life changing project. Its not so much life changing as it is a change in perspective. So I thought I would start my own change in perspective of my life. I walked away from a lot of things this past year, celebrated a lot of firsts, and discovered some new things about myself. So since I don't have a house anymore and am living a more vicarious life, I have decided to do... I love my Life. So each week, I am going to try and name a positive thing about my life. Something that I have not recognized. It will make me appreciate the little things a lot more.

Whirlwind....

This was inspired by another blog.....

This past week has surpassed my mind.... I can not believe how much stuff I crammed into 7 days. And yet I survived.

Sunday- Aug 30

9:30am--- Run to church for sacrament

10:20-- Run out of church to get to Tri Delt house

10:45-6pm--- sell my soul for the chance to be judged on everything but my personality

6pm- Study until I want to shoot myself

Monday-Aug 31

9am- class starts

4pm- class ends

6pm- start homework

Tuesday

4am- finish homework and return to bed

9am- start the day all over again

5pm- sell my soul to the devil again...

Wednesday

Classes... work... life... dissapointment

Thursday

I dont even remember anymore

Friday

Class... life... drive to Los Angeles

Saturday

Spend 9 hours in Los Angeles

Drive home

Greek Carnival

So I decided to attend Greek Carnival with Em and Lis and it was a blast. Aside from the rampage of students trying to sign up for the chance to spend 4 years devoting themselves and their livers to party life of being a fraternity brother... or the selling of ones self esteem to a sorority. (I did it too...) There were fun games, free food and a chance to be on campus, in the schools only consented rager at 1 in the morning. Its funny how the greek system works... its the only time the world turns their heads to underage drinking and irresponsibility. The Cal Greek System is also the only greek system where students can drink from Thursday through Sunday and still uphold a 3.9 GPA.

School Starts Again....

So the new school year has started... which means new challenges have arrived.... work, school... life.

Its only been about 10 days since classes started on Aug 26, but I am tired already. Sometimes... I kind of just want to run off a cliff... makes life so much easier. And it would ease my mind if I had no real reason to go to school since I would either be dead or brain dead. Ahhh... the pains of being a college student. Sometimes.... I wonder if we suffer and its worth it.

California YSA Conference 2009

This past weekend, was my first YSA conference. It was the statewide California conference, where all 7 temples hosted for their respective zones. 7 temples all simultaneously taught the same lessons and ran the same programs at the same time. It was the fun challenge planned. This has been a well planned, over planned project to boost temple ordinances and such. Leading up to the conference in the last 8 months, collective between 7 temples, 65,000+ temple ordinances were performed by the YSA between the ages of 18-31 in California. It was a challenge, and the YSA of California ran with it. 2days of conference dedication to temple time paid off with lots of fun. We had 4 workshops, speed dating, 3 great meals, the biggest sacrament meeting ever and a new use of technology.

We had some great speakers, touching on the atonement, convenances, temple ordinances, financial planning and many other church topics that they usually touch on. It was overall a lot of fun. I even had my first speed dating event. Which was interesting. I think between the 7 temples and 157 stakes, there was an outcome goal of 10,000 YSA to be in attendance of the conference, but I think it might have gone over that number because the goal for the Oakland Temple was 1,700 and we surpassed that to 21oo on Saturday and 2300 on Sunday. Our multi-stake center however, only holds 1500 by itself, so it was a fun challenge on Sunday to see the guys have to walk around the building to all the other places to pass sacrament. Passing the sacrament to 2300 people is an extremely long and tedious process. They said it would take 250 men to do it between the 7 temples, but Oakland had at least 42 on their own. The statistics posted in the commercial I think were goals that were surpassed. 60,000 bottles for instance, we used roughly 2200 bottles of water every 3 hours. Temple ordinances were also performed Saturday morning starting at 6am. Which means people were getting ready for the conference at the crack of dawn. It was crazy, some of the things we did, but it was also fun with others. Here are some picture highlights.

Here we have our Graffiti wall where everyone had a chance to put up a message to the world. It was fun. This is at registration. Which went on for 2+ hours.

Emily and I in front of the temple right after dinner as we changed clothes for the evening activities and dance. The burgundy lanyards mean we were in the second age group. 18-31 was split into 5 age groups. And lanyards signified which age group we would be speed dating in.

Speed dating, my first time... it was interesting... lesson learned.... don't have any expectations.

They had a new technological advancement that came with this conference, text message polling and quick post, where we text message our questions, answer polls and make comments during talks, workshops and any time in between. It started at 8am with punch lines, polls, and pick up lines from everyone in the audience, and by the end of the night it was personal ads with phone numbers for you to call to find a date. I personally had a blast with it, posting messages for friends on the board and challenging other wards to the quilt tie off.

"I want a Hansen but I will settle for a Garret...."

"Time to stop ruling the world and find a man..."

"Berkeley Ward challenges Washington Square to a tie off..."

Here we are right before the dance. Emily, Rachel, Jody and I.

Tying quilts for charity. Every temple was assigned 150 quilts to tie to donate to families in need. Our fingers were beyond soar and red by the time the dance rolled around. Humanitarian work is both rewarding and painful.

One line: "When Mormons dance..."

It was a blast!