Catching Up Numéro Trois

I hope you're comfortable because this is going to be a long one. 

My visit at home ended last Wednesday. Can I just say that the Portland Airport is the best airport for people watching? Portland is home to many interesting people (the motto is Keep Portland Weird, so it makes sense) so it's like heaven to someone that loves people watching. Also, there were so many Asians. I was like, my people are everywhere! Haha. Too bad none of them were really cute or on my flight. 

I usually buy something to eat for breakfast at the airport, but it took so long to check my baggage and get through security that I didn't have time. They started boarding right as I got to my gate. This flight was also later than usual for me so I was more hungry than I usually am. I figured I would just get something later, but I didn't know just how long later would be. I got my bag and headed out side to wait for my ride. She was at the park & wait at the airport. I texted her that I was ready to go and she called me with some news. She was out of gas and her dad was bringing her some. I waited for two hours outside because the weather was so nice. The security people kept walking by and looking at me. They probably thought my ride forgot about me. I didn't make myself look any better when I decided to lay down on one of the benches. There wasn't really anyone else around so it wasn't like I was taking up space. 

Ally picked me up and her dad followed us to a gas station. I'm not sure if that was his original plan, but he followed her from the park & wait because his sunglasses were on her car, caught in the trunk. I got to pump gas for the first time. It's a pretty big deal for us Oregonians since we don't have to pump our own gas. Once we got back to Provo, Ally let me stop at Cafe Rio so i get get some food. I knew I didn't really have any at home and I didn't want the first thing I had put in my body all day to be fast food. The thought actually grossed me out. Cafe Rio's salads are huge and delicious. I basically ate the whole thing. It was definitely the most I've ever eaten since I was so hungry. 

When I got home my beautiful green KitchenAid was waiting for me. Best homecoming present EVER!! On Friday I made cookies because I really wanted to break it in. This was after I had basically cleaned the whole kitchen because it was dirty and there was no way my new baby was going to be on display in a messy kitchen. My roommate felt bad that I washed her dishes and cleaned up after her, but I'm NEVER in the mood to clean so I told he to just go with it because it will probably never happen again. oh yeah, the cookies turned out great and my mixer is amazing. Can't wait to make patriotic cupcakes for the 4th of July!

On Sunday I got to see the new bishopric. Our ward's stake high councilman became our new bishop and we got a new 3rd counselor from Sri Lanka. Our second counselor didn't change, but he will be leaving soon to move to Italy. His family is so cute. He's got the cutest wife and adorable 4 month old daughter. once they leave I'll pay better attention in Relief Society. Ada (the baby) is too distracting.

Last night for ward FHE, we played soda pop baseball. Yep, baseball with soda cans instead of a ball. I was skeptical when I first heard what we were doing, but it was fun! The cans were shaken before being pitched, co they exploded when hit. It was awesome. To get people out there were water balloons to throw. It was so much fun I think I want to play it the next time we have a family reunion. I think all the kids would love it. What kid wouldn't want to get covered with sticky soda? Plus, it's not as dangerous as it sounds. Unless you get hit in the face with a water balloon or someone lets go of the bat and almost hits someone in the head. Since we were sticky, a group of us decided to go swimming to wash off.

Tonight we had a ward activity. There was hot dogs, watermelon (yuck! I seriously need to start taking my own fruit to summer activities that involve food so I can enjoy some fruit too) and water balloons. We were supposed to play some games with them, but it ended up being just a big water balloon fight. The guys even went after the bishopric. It was fun. I'm loving all these fun water related activities. 

I'm so excited because Saturday is the Stadium of Fire!! DAVID ARCHULETA!!!! AAHHH!!! Can you tell I'm excited?

I think I'm pretty much caught up now. I really need to learn how to count in other languages for future post titles. I've already used up Spanish and I used French today. Actually, I should be fine as long as I don't need to keep writing catch up posts.

Father's Day

While I can't say Happy Father's Day to my own Dad (that would require him to actually be a father and do his fatherly duties), I have a couple great uncles who are great examples of what a father should be. I was talking to my aunt about my dad and she said to just call him the sperm donor and my mom the incubator since I can't really call them parents. Sad, but it's the truth. At least I can laugh about it.

I went with Nana and Mimi to church. It's been a while since I've gone to a family ward. I love the primary programs. The kids were so cute singing for Father's Day. There's always the one kid that tries to out sing everyone else and just belts it, the kid that plays around and can't stand still, and the kid that refuses to sing. Love it.

Tonight we had steak and my great grandma's potato salad. Awesome Father's Day dinner! It's been a while since I've had steak from our cows. Boy is it good! It was so juicy and tender.

Tonight Sara came over and tomorrow we are going to the beach!! I'm so excited. The weather doesn't have to be perfect; as long as it doesn't rain I'm happy. The plan is to go to the beach, maybe look at some fun shops, hit up Mo's for clam chowder (YUM!) and then the Tillamook Cheese Factory for free cheese and maybe eat some ice cream too. Tillamook ice cream is so good.

More highlights of home:

• Playing Just Dance 2 (I may have gotten my butt kicked by my 10 year old sister)
• Caught up on scrapbooking! I got Nana's pages done for last Christmas. Only six months late, but she was happy and they turned out great. [My family is big on scrapbooking. All my grandma wants every year is 4 pages from each family. Once I turned 18, I became included.]
• Catching up with friends and people at church (got to see my old YW leader's new baby... so cute!)

Well, I need to go to bed if I'm going to get up in the morning and be awake enough to drive.

Home Sweet Home

I love being home!! I don't really feel like writing an actual post so I'm just going to keep it brief.

• Had a blast watching the Pretty Little Liars summer premier with my sister and two of her friends. They loved me. They could tell we're sisters because we talk the same. I got caught up on all the drama of 7th grade. They even brought out the yearbook! I got to see all the weirdos, the crushes, the witches, etc. Because I really care about all that. But it was fun.
• We got two new cows (I barely missed the butcher fest) named Big Mac (Mackenzie) and Butterfinger (tentatively). Nana let the grand kids name them. We picked up the meat today. I hope to have steak before I leave!
• I've done minimal yard work :)
• Made piña colada cupcakes and they were a hit! I even had two little helpers; Sunhee and Meeja did a great job.
• Had fun watching the kids swim today. When I first went to check the water to see if the pool had heated up, it was so warm. I looked at the temp and it was 90 degrees! Kind of defeats the purpose of swimming. I think Nana turned it up so it would heat up faster and forgot to turn it down. Aside from a couple bloody noses and multiple times in and out of the pool to go the bathroom, it was a good afternoon. 
•  Sunhee played with my hair!! I love when people play with my hair. I like it better than a massage. I actually hate massages. I love having little sisters and cousins around that love to play with hair.

I think that's it for now.  I still have four more days to have fun before I leave on Wednesday. I'm excited for Monday. I finally get to go to the coast!!! My friend Sara is going with me. Knowing me, we'll probably get lost at least once so that will be fun. I really want to go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Haven't been there in a while. I love the free samples. Who doesn't love free cheese? I also want some of their ice cream. SO GOOD! I'll let you know how Monday turns out.

Mixin' It Up

That's what I will be doing a lot once I get back to P-town. Why? Because my birthday came early and my family is AWESOME!!! Guess what I'm finally getting? MY KITCHENAID MIXER!!! And it's GREEN! And I didn't have to be engaged or married as previously told. I guess they agreed with the logic of a previous post: Since I'm not going to be boozing it up or partying like crazy for my 21st birthday, my gift should be bigger and better than usual. It's either that or they just really love me. Seriously, my life (so far) has been made today.

I see more egg sandwiches in my future.

They also surprised me with a little care package that they just gave me instead of mailing. It had cute cupcake hand towels for the kitchen (they know me so well), a cute spatula that has a little egg on the the handle, a cookie scoop, and a single egg pan (also with an egg on the handle).

Isn't it cute?

The gifts couldn't be more perfect. I needed more hand towels (I'm the only one that puts them out so everyone uses them, which causes them to get dirty faster) and they couldn't be cuter. I love eggs so the pan and spatula are perfect. Seriously, I buy the 18 pack at the store just for myself. I really love eggs. Good thing I don't have to worry about cholesterol at my age. And they gave me patriotic sprinkles in case I decided to make cupcakes for the 4th of July, which I was totally planning on doing so they're perfect. Ahhh...today has just been a pretty perfect day.

My aunt came over and made curry Chicken for dinner, which tasted amazing as usual. It was nice to see her and my cousins. That just added to my perfectly perfect day. Have I said how much I enjoy being home and how much I love my family?

Traveling Traditions

As mentioned before, I always stay up all night the night before travelling anywhere, usually because I'm up late packing and since I have to be up early it just makes sense (to me anyway) to stay up. For me, it's easier to pull an all nighter than to wake up after getting a few hours of sleep.

Another one of my traditions is to hit up Starbucks after passing through security so I can get a caramel apple spice. It's so warm and delicious! It's such a great (coffee-free) way to start my day. I love when they have pumpkin scones; combining the two together is like Fall in your mouth.

I didn't take this

My favorite thing about the airport is people watching (while drinking my caramel apple spice). I love people watching...I think everyone does. And if there happens to be some cute guys to watch (in a non creepy, non stalker-ish way), even better. There just so happened to be one yesterday and he just happened to be Asian, possibly Korean. He was in line a ways behind me waiting to go through security so we kept zig-zagging past each other. He was also behind me in line at Starbucks. The only thing that would have been better is if he was on my plane. Sadly he was not. There were no cute guys on my plane, just a bunch of old people.

Usually I sleep on the plane, which I did. I also usually sleep in the car on the way home from the airport since  I'm extremely tired. This time I did not. I told Nana (I think we were in Salem or nearby) that this was the most we've talked on the way to or from the airport since I'm usually asleep. I stayed awake the whole way home, where I crashed on the couch downstairs. I took a nap and then after dinner I crashed again, this time on the couch upstairs. Woke up long enough to remove my make-up and take out my contacts. I think I got at least 12 hours of sleep. Probably more. That's what I get for staying up all night the night before.

I love being home, even though all I've done so far is sleep.

I tried

So tonight I tried to break free from my usual habit of procrastinating and packing the night before/morning of a trip. I was planning on doing my laundry so I could pack and have that out of the way. Right before I was about to load up my bag to head next door (I love being right next to the laundry room, so convenient), there was a knock at the door. It was maintenance. He said one of the machines had flooded so he wanted to see if there was any water damage on our side. Nope, there was not. I then went to check the laundry room only to find not one, but two machines are currently out of commission. The second machine won't start. That leaves only one machine, which means I'm going to have to watch it like a hawk if I want to be able to wash my clothes. Saturday is the busiest laundry day (obviously). I have a feeling that I'm just going to end up doing my laundry at 3am since another one of my pre-traveling habits is to get no sleep the night before. At least I can say I tried.

Obviously my kitchen looks nothing like this, but it looks nice and clean

I also did some serious cleaning today. Cleaning checks are Tuesday, but I won't be here. I called the lady that does them to see if I could do mine tomorrow so I could be present in case anything needed to be touched up. I have a feeling they would fail me and charge me if I was not here since it's a "final" cleaning check (spring semester is over and people move out). I haven't heard back from her yet. Since there are only two of us right now (Marjorie is in Michigan doing an internship), someone gets three jobs while the other gets two. I decided to take the three and just did the whole kitchen (fridge, floor, and stove).

Confession: I actually enjoyed cleaning! Almost had a heart attack, didn't ya? I know, I was very surprised at myself. Anyone that knows me can tell you I am not a fan of cleaning. It was a nice day so I had the window open and my music blaring, which definitely affected the mood I was in while cleaning. Also, the kitchen wasn't that dirty from last month when I cleaned. The fact that there are only two of us also cuts down on messes. All this cleaning made me feel really productive today and I love knowing that things are clean.

I'm so excited that I have only one more day before I go home!!

Do You Like Piña Coladas?

Today was the last time I would see my FHE family the way it currently is because some people will be gone by the time I come back from visiting home. I wanted to make really amazing cupcakes that everyone would love and would give me one last chance to show a certain someone my skillz. I really wanted to make the pineapple pomegranate ones, but I don't have everything to make the frosting. I decided to make piña colada cupcakes.

They turned out perfectly! I'm always a little scared to try a new recipe, but this one is a keeper. I found it online here and tweaked it a little bit to make it better. The toasted coconut was such a nice touch. Not only did it make them look good, but it definitely amped up the taste too. Oh, and the crunch it added was really nice. It was my first time toasting coconut too! I'm glad I didn't burn it. I have some left and I'm planning on just eating it because it's seriously like candy. Isn't it healthier than candy since it's fruit?


I think they may have been the best cupcakes I've made! I'm not sure. I love my red velvet and the Reese's ones, but these are pretty phenomenal. Everyone ate more than one and I was told it was the best cupcake someone has ever eaten. How's that for a compliment? 


Our activity tonight was watching a Shakespeare play in the park. It was originally supposed to be at the duck pond near campus. we walked there only to find a sign that said it had been moved to Kiwanis Park, which is just a five minute walk from our apartment complex. We were so happy to have walked all the way there for no reason. I didn't mind because the weather was so nice. The play was As You Like It, done by The Grassroots Shakespeare Company. It was pretty funny. 

This guy made it both hilarious and disturbing. He's not wearing his wig in this picture (which I stole from Facebook). At the end of the play, the whole cast dances. While he was shakin' what his mama gave him, one of his fake boobs popped out. I just about died. I was one of the only people to notice it out of my group because when I mentioned it afterwards, only one other person knew what I was talking about. Every time he appeared, the guy next to me made sounds that obviously showed how disturbed he was. I enjoyed listening to him and watching him wriggle with disgust. His name is Cody. He's in my ward, but not in my family. He just happened to be there so he sat with us.

Tomorrow we are having a ward bonfire. Christina and I went to the store so she get groceries (which I don't need since I'm going home in 6 days) and I could get Starbursts for roasting. I also bought mosquito repellent since it's that time of year. Oh joy! I finally caved and bought sushi. I've been craving it for the past three weeks and I finally bought some. Yeah, the store bought stuff isn't as good, but it was good enough to satisfy my craving. Plus, I figured since I wouldn't be grocery shopping for the next two weeks I could afford it. It was so worth it. Yeah, I had sushi for dinner at 10:40pm. that's what I get for eating a late lunch and cupcakes (had to taste test them).

Anyway, today was great day and I'm getting so excited to go home. One thing I want to do while I'm home is to go to the coast. I really want to go to the beach. Let's see if I actually go.

*It's bugging me that there are some double spaces in between some of the paragraphs. I tried to fix them, but it's not working. It looks weird and I don't like. Just thought I'd let you know in case you feel the same way, which you probably don't because I'm just weird like that.*

Oh Poo!

Today I got pooped on by a bird for the first and hopefully the last time in my life. This happened a few hours after I had read on Facebook that my sister, Alina, had also been a target of this foul occurrence. Two sisters...states apart... both get pooped on by a bird...on the same day. Coincidence? I THINK NOT! Oh, and can I just add EXTREMELY GROSS!!

Cupcake Love

Can I have this please?

How awesome is this?!? It combines two of my loves, cupcakes and Dr. Pepper. I don't think I could have anything better hanging around my neck and it's only $5! This comes from Funky Recycling, an Etsy shop. 

Lately I've really wanted a cool baseball hat. I steal my cousin's hats all the time and wear them (he hates it) because they make me feel cool and gangsta. I look really good in them. Look what I found? Isn't it amazing? I REALLY REALLY want it!! I sound like a little whiny kid, huh? 

This piece of awesomeness comes from Johnny Cupcakes. It's only $60. Who wants to get it for me? I really like this one, but I'd be happy with any color combo. There are even some hats on ebay starting at $30. My birthday is only 3 months and 9 days away. 

If you want more ideas, refer to this older post.

Or everyone could just pitch in together and get me the one gift I'm DYING to have, a KitchenAid mixer. Hey, I'm turning 21. Since I'm not going to drink or party like other 21 year olds, I might as well dream big for my gifts, right? I think that's some perfect logic right there.

Don't take this post too seriously, it's just wishful thinking. I don't expect to get all this.

"Tears of joy are like the summer rain drops pierced by sunbeams." ~Hosea Ballou

My aunt, Angie, decided to post the video I made for Sunhee on Facebook. Everyone loved it and why wouldn't they? It's pretty amazing. I guess it caused like every female that watched it to shed tears, happy ones. I thought it was both flattering and funny. I seriously laughed when I was reading all the comments. Not because I think it's ridiculous that they cried, but it's a one minute video. I'm surprised it touched so many people, but I'm happy with this outcome.

I've re-watched it multiple times myself because I'm just so proud of the way it turned out! I especially love the music. I had no idea what song I was going to use when I made it. It was hard to come up with one that would go along with the video. I'm also amazed that the timing of the music worked out so well. The video just flows (Apparently like everyone's tears. Haha!).

I hope I have a reason to make another video soon. 

Happy Birthday Sunhee

So I decided to be a little ambitious today and make a video for my sister's birthday. I've never made a video and edited it before. It took a lot longer than I thought it would. Part of it was my fault for redoing the video like 30 times before I was happy with it (sometimes I blinked too much, the cards were turned sideways from a previous take, my smile looked fake, etc.). I admire people who make videos and are good at it. It was hard to get the music lined up just right and to end up with a finished product I was proud of (though the video quality is a tad poor). I hope you like it Sunhee because I worked hard on it just for you and I hope you had a fabulous day!