Well, I can't believe it, but somehow one month has gone by since the big day (more on this later), and it's more than halfway through April. So much has happened over the past month and I finally feel caught up enough to blog. I just got back from a celebratory dinner with Todd and now I'm sitting in my apartment that is a bajillion degrees right now. We've been having this crazy heat wave in SoCal lately, so it was about 95 degrees today. Yesterday, Todd, my mom and co. were up at California Adventure and it was also SOOO hot! We were all melting!
Anyway, back to a month ago. As most of you know, it's the day Todd and I got ENGAGED!! It's still so crazy to write/say/think about. You can read Todd's re-cap here (if you haven't already), which basically covers it all. I guess from my perspective, I was completely surprised. I was mainly just confused and hungry, and didn't get why we couldn't eat before going to the beach (typical). The funny thing is that when we were walking to the beach, Todd had all this gear - sleeping bag, backpack, etc. - and I thought to myself, "what if he has the champagne in there?" (note: the champagne is this special bottle of almond champ that Todd had been saving for a year for a "special occasion." I would always joke that it was for when we got engaged). So, yes, I thought that it would be funny if it was the champagne, but never actually thought it was. I was totally shocked when all of a sudden the champagne was ACTUALLY there, with a ring. WOW, such an exciting night :D Anyway, now looking back, all these weird things make sense - like how Todd was begging me to leave work early that day and how I couldn't look at his phone at all (there were secret engagement e-mails on it). Plus, a couple days before, he came over to my house really, REALLY excited (the day he got the ring). I remember wondering what the heck was going on! OK, back to the night... the exciting engagement happened and I said YES (obvi) and then we went to dinner at Il Fornaio and stayed the night at the Hotel Del. Since then, we've been crazy talking and planning. So far, we have the church and reception place (almost) booked, and the date... June 12, 2010!
We're so excited and are having a ton of fun planning. Woohooo! Other than that, we just got back from a fabulous vacation in Florida last week. We stayed at Todd's grandmother's beach condo, which is now owned by his Aunt and Uncle. We had a great time hanging out with the family and making difficult decisions like "Hmmm, what should we do today? Pool, beach, pool, pool, beach, pool, beach? Or beach, beach, pool, beach, pool, pool?" I really miss Todd's parents, Lin and Chris. The week went by too fast. But, we also got to spend some time with my dad, Rose and the kids in Orlando, which was a great ending to a FUN weekl!
It's been difficult transitioning back into the usual schedule, but hopefully, we'll get the hang of it soon :) Plus, I'm sure I'll have bunches of updates in the coming weeks and months, and I can't wait to share them with you!
June 12, 2010
Childhood Things.
My best friend, Alyx, and I were having this great conversation this morning that sparked all kinds of reminiscing. We were chatting about all of the great things they had when we were kids - things that really shaped our school years. Things that kids today probably wouldn't care about because they're so high tech (wow, I sound old). I decided I would share these things with you because you may have loved them too. Here goes...
1. Book It! - Man do I miss this. Book It was a program run by pizza hut that basically encoruaged kids to read by bribing them with a personal pan pizza (yummm!). I think they still have this program, but I doubt it's as cool. 
Do kids today get the sweet button that had the little stickers you would get to add once you read a new book? Do they even have the eat-in pizza hut restaurants anymore? Mmmm, I could really go for a quick game of X-Men while I wait to be seated, followed by some delicious breadsticks right now (but only if I get to be Storm).
2. Choose Your Own Adventure Books - These were the absolute BEST! Boy, did I love them... especially the Goosebumps versions (did anyone else make them?). 
I wish they made these for adults, because I would definitely read them. I can already imagine the Twilight version. Does Bella choose Edward or Jacob? Turn to page 35 for Edward or page 61 for Jacob.
3. Dunkaroos and Shark Bites - Alyx says they still have these, which is great news because they were SO cool! I loved the Dunkaroos that had the sprinkes in the cookies with chocolate frosting and the sharks that were white. Those were so much better than the rest.
4. Pogs - Heck yeah I played with Pogs! My grandfather would buy me so many of these. I had such awesome slammers and I have great memories of playing with my cousin Jason during our annual Christmas Eve get together. I wonder where mine are? I must have at least 5 containers of them somewhere. 
5. Yikes Pencils - I was obsessed with these. They were all swirly and colorful. Plus, they had those crazy erasers that came in weird shapes. They were totally a plus while doing school work. Especially if you added one of those squishy, finger protector things.
6. Trapper Keepers and Lisa Frank Folders - Everyone had these. And it's true, you weren't cool without them. The zippers, the velcro, the crazy colors! 
I wish these were required supplies at work!
Man, I could go on and on. There were so many other cool things I loved. Guess I'll have to save them for another post, but what cool things did you have as a kid? Did you love any of these things as much as I did?
One Song. Glory.
Last night I saw RENT! And, boy, was it amazing. It even featured original cast members Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp and Gwen Stewart. I think this was my second time seeing it live, but I've probably watched the movie a million times! I was basically bouncing around in my seat the whole time, silently singing all of the songs. Everything about the play is wonderful - the set, the music, the perfectly rhymed lyrics - but my favorite part is probably the message. I think these lyrics sum it up perfectly: "There's only us. There's only this. Forget regret - or life is yours to miss." It's so true. We're only here for a short amount of time and in the end, all you really have are moments and people that have touched you. RENT should inspire everyone to live life in the moment... to the fullest. A hard thing to do, believe me. Most of you know that I'm constantly planning, so this is something I've struggled with. I'm going to try to live the lyrics for now though, and maybe if I forget to do it after a while, I'll have to see the show again (no complaints here).
So, I'm wondering what your favorite show is. Mine is for sure Phantom, but RENT is a close second. What shows and music touch you? Let me know!
And, if you're obsessed with musicals like me and live in San Diego, check out Broadway San Diego's Web site. Todd and I just bought a flex pack that includes tickets to Wicked (I'm giddy already), The Lion King and In the Heights. I wanted to buy tickets to every show, but I don't think I could have convinced Todd to see Legally Blonde... hmmm :)
Anza
This twentysomething has been a busy bee (hehe) at work. I just got out of a meeting all about blogs so I decided to "practice what we preach" here at work and get to updating! This weekend was another adventure for Todd and I, as we decided to venture out to the desert. Well, actually, we had our trip planned for another weekend, but that's a whole other story. Friday was our packing day and they Saturday morning, we were off! The drive to the desert is a beautiful one, and I'm still always surprised at how quickly the terrain changes. San Diego is just one of those places, I guess. You really can see it all - snow, desert, beach, city - within a fairly short drive. Anyway, our drive started out through the strangely peaceful and tree-line streets of Scripps Ranch, through stop-and-go Ramona and briefly in Julian, where Todd and I made a quick detour at Dudley's Bakery. For some reason, I really had to stop at Dudley's. I feel like I've been going on and on about it ever since this camping trip was planned. I think it has something to do with high school and the fact that we stopped there our our field trip to the desert, but anyway, we stopped and picked up some bread. I got a cheddar loaf and Todd got jalapeno. We also ordered a sandwich for later, which gave us some time to look around the gift shop that was full of Native American nick nacks. After Dudley's we were back in the car and back to winding roads through the beautiful mountains and valleys. I think the drive was something like an hour and 30 mins, and when we finally made it to Anza-Borrego, we realized we weren't the only ones who had the idea of going to the desert! There were millions of people everywhere, and it took us a while to finally find some parking and get hiking. 
Todd, on the other hand, skipped college and ended up as a multi-millionaire. I guess I learned my lesson! We also made hot dogs (I'm embarrassed to say how many), jiffy pop and heated cookies over the fire (the best idea ever). We also watched a movie, because, hey - we're high tech! Todd even made this crazy contraption to hold his iPhone up like a movie screen so we could lie in the tent and have the movie playing above us. He basically kept saying: "Be prepared. It's the boy scout motto," which made me laugh, but it's true. We had all these random things that were really useful! The only thing we were missing were camping chairs. So, all in all, I am going to say that camping was a success! We somehow avoided seeing any bugs, made it through the freezing night (OK, not freezing, but still cold) and made it back to Julian in time to have delicious apple pie and coffee for breakfast!
Next trip stop - Disneyland :)
Weekend time.
Bloggg time! It's "raining" again in San Diego. Actually, last night it really was pouring. I think the weather forecast even said something about thunderstorms this weekend... wouldn't that be great? Haha, I just love these days! I can't wait to get back home and put on comfy clothes and just relax. Tonight, Kaleigh is sleeping over! It should be a lot of fun. I haven't had a real sleepover in forever. I miss those days.
Tonight, Elysia, Kayl and I plan on:
1. Baking cookies and decorating cookies. And then eating them.
2. Possibly playing a board game?
3. Watching Anne of Green Gables. Hopefully all the way through to the end of the Continuing. We'll probably be up all night.
Anyway, it should be a great girls night! The rest of my weekend is slam packed too, but I'm really looking forward to it. Tomorrow, Todd, Elysia and possibly Rylan, and I are going to try and volunteer at Habitat. I'll let you know how that goes. Then, Sunday there is a free salsa/samba class in PB. Should be fun! Maybe Todd and I will get back into salsa dancing again :)
That's it for now. Happy Weekend!!
Food Diary
Hi there (hello, Ma)! Well, it's Monday and it's February and I'm taking a minute to blog :) I am still recovering from the super bowl yesterday... mainly from the food at our super bowl "party" (if you can even call it that, haha). I didn't really watch the game, but I did eat tons. My super bowl stuff-your-face fest consisted of:
1. Homemade nachos. A lot of them. With a lot of guac, salsa and sour cream :x
2. One hot dog. I later saw the commercial for Hebrew National and was sad that I ate the cheap-o brand that most likely contained the "butt."
3. Two diet cherry pepsis (wow, that word looks weird). I was gonna have three, but decided that might be overdoing it a bit. Everyone else was drinking beer.
4. 3 chocolate chip cookies. They were so good and made by Elysia. I kept taking a half and then going back for the rest later. Come to think of it, I probably had 10 halves, which is 5 cookies - yikes!
Anyway, I woke up starving this morning - at 4 a.m., I might add - and I blame it all on the fact that I ate so much food all day. So, now, I'm deliriously at work (waking up at 4 a.m. for no apparent reason is not fun) and have already had one granola bar and an everything bagel... and I'm still STARVING. Ahhh, this really is going to be a long day.
Hey, at least I updated!
Christmas cheer.
Christmas is in full-swing around here. Have you stopped to look at the calendar lately? Because, it's in only 16 DAYS!! Ahhh! My mom and I went shopping for hours on Sunday night. I think I got home at 11ish or something crazy. We thought we were done, but then decided to head over to Target since they close super late these days. I got the baby a really cute puppy that barks and a bunch of other stuff I didn't need to buy like Christmas note pads. Daniel wants a real puppy for Christmas this year. In fact, the other day, Todd told the baby he had a surprise for him (some chocolate, I think), and the baby said, "is it a puppy?" Uh oh!
But, anyway, I'm almost done with my gift buying! I think I have only a couple more things to get. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone open their gifts! I'm also excited to get home tonight and wrap everything. I think I'm really bad at wrapping gifts, but I like doing it. It's kind of relaxing for me.
Todd and I went to the dollar store last night and there was so much cheesy, cheapo Christmas stuff. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING! I was there for wrapping paper and such, but I was also there to get ideas for my office cubicle decorating contest. I have this really, really great idea, but it requires a lot of time and supplies, as well as intense amounts of painting and maybe even buying props that light up. Hmmm, might have to stick with plan two, which is less time consuming. Once it's all done, I'll post some pictures for everyone to see! In the meantime, let me know if you have any good ideas. I have until the 19th to get everything set up. Apparently there is a prize involved, so I must win! :)
Off to decorate the office tree. For real this time.
Puppies to the rescue :)
Awww, here's a great story that just made my day happier. Hopefully it will make yours better, too!
From the Daily News: Puppies save three-year-old boy lost in freezing Virginia woods
A toddler lost in the Virginia woods was back home safe Sunday thanks to two puppies who kept him warm through a harrowing night of freezing temperatures.
Jaylynn Thorpe, 3, wandered away from his baby-sitter at 4 p.m. Friday and was missing for 21 hours as hundreds of friends, family and law enforcement officials searched for him in the thick woods of Halifax County, fearing the worst.
"The only thing we wanted to do was just keep searching until we found him," Halifax County Sheriff Stanley Noblin told reporters.
Jaylynn's frantic family knew time was not on its side.
"We didn't forget the issue that 17 degrees was almost unbearable," said his father, James Thorpe.
"People all over the State of Virginia was down there looking for that child. For a while there, one time, I didn't know whether they would find him or not," said the child's grandmother and guardian, Katherine Elliot.
Officials said the lost little boy and the two family puppies wandered up to a mile in the dark, even across a highway, but it wasn't until Saturday afternoon that members of the search team found him sitting by a tree, the two puppies nestled against him.
The little boy didn't say anything, according to rescue team member Jerry Gentry, but instead "just opened his arms up like, 'I'm ready to go.'"
"When I first saw him, he was like, 'Momma, I got cold. I slept in the woods last night. The puppies kept me warm.' He told me that ... the dogs slept up against him. And I'm sure the body heat kept him warm," said his mother, Sarah Ingram.
Billie Jo Roach, another member of the search party that found the boy, said the puppies refused to leave his side.
As the child was placed in an ambulance to be taken to a local hospital for examination, "The puppies were watching where he went.
"Where he went, they went," Roach said.
As word went out that the child was alive and well, family members cheered and cried for joy.
"Praise the Lord! Welcome home, Jaylynn!" yelled his aunt, Amy Zimmerman.
Close to 300 people from North Carolina and Virginia joined in the search to find Jaylynn.
"I love you! God bless you," Ingram told the rescue teams.
"I think I just said, 'Thank you Lord' ... for us to have another chance!" said the child's father.
The boy spent Saturday night under observation at Halifax Regional Hospital and chowed down on a double cheeseburger, a hot dog, strawberry ice cream and French fries.
Meanwhile, the furry heroes, their tails wagging, were rewarded with food.
"I definitely call this a miracle," said Noblin.
Dec. 2
My eyes are burning from the intenseness of my computer screen. Ahh! Anyway, hi! I was talking to Ma this weekend and she was asking me about my blog, so here I am. I didn't take a lunch break today, so I figure the last part of my day can be dedicated to an update. I'm currently listening to Christmas music, which is making me feel less stressed out. This day... this past month has been HECTIC at work. There have definetely been fun parts, and I feel like I've learned a lot, but I'm not gonna lie, it's been crazy stressful! That said, I'm really looking forward to these next couple of weeks and all the Christmasy fun, and heading home again, of course. Like always, every single moment of the next few weeks is planned out (gotta love the holidays). This week I'll be going to the Horton Plaza Christmas Tree lighting, joining Elysia at her company holiday party, going to December Nights and heading to Greg's birthday party. Other than that, life has been usual. Thanksgiving was fun, especially the having 4 days off part. Todd, Elysia and I have basically been spending all of our time watching the best show ever - How I Met Your Mother. It's so funny! If you haven't watching it yet, you need to. It's all about a dad telling his kids how he met their mother... which means he has to tell a million stories that seem meaningless, but that somehow will lead him to meeting his wife. Great concept and even better writing. Sitcoms are pretty bad these days, so I'm happy to have found a show that actually makes me laugh.
OK, time to hit the road. Happy December, everyone!
BOO!
It's almost October 31, so I figured I would share this article with everyone who's looking to get in the Halloween mood.
Muhaha :)