Thanksgiving Break 2013

On Wednesday, after 13 hours in a car, I was home! It was so nice to be home for Thanksgiving this year, the first in four years. I'm sad I didn't get to see everyone though. Since it was a surprise that I was coming, some family made other plans and I wasn't able to see all my siblings. Luckily, I'll be back for Christmas in 21 days. 

This Thanksgiving was pretty special because we had eight Oregon State football players and 2 of their girlfriends join us for dinner since my cousin is a freshman on the team. My younger cousins had a blast playing with them and they were very entertaining. They were very friendly and enjoyable to have around. We had a lot of food, but they didn't eat as much as you would expect since some of them had the Civil War game (Oregon State vs University of Oregon) the next day and the ones that didn't play had to watch their weight. We played a game of Spoons with Fred, my cousin's roommate, and they all went swimming after dinner. It was a great day.

Yesterday was the Civil War and sadly we didn't win, for the sixth year in a row. We lost by one point, which is almost worse than losing by a lot just because we were SO CLOSE. It was fun how the family kept looking for my cousin and the players we had over the day before on TV. We saw them a few times. It was pretty exciting. 

I had also spent over an hour on the phone with Verizon. My grandma was on the phone for a while and we found out they had made a mistake and wanted me to change my phone number because of it. I was going to go along with it just because I didn't want to make things difficult for Nana, but I didn't really want to change my number. I took over the call and after over 2 hours on the phone between the two us, we finally got it resolved. Working at a call center has its perks because I definitely knew how to get them to fix it our way. I still have the same number :)

Today I spent most of the day shopping with my aunt and sister Sunhee. She has her first formal dance next week. She is in Jr. High and growing up so fast! We went to seven different stores before finding the dress. It was hard because she is small so it was hard finding the balance between something that fit but looked her age and not too childish, but we did it. One of the highlights of the day was watching her try to walk in heels for the first time. I would compare it to watching Bambi walk. She went with some cute wedges since they give her the height (oh the curse of the short Asian genes) but are still comfortable and she can actually walk in them. 

I spent most of the evening held up in the craft room making Christmas decorations for my apartment. They are so cute! I'll post pictures when they are finished. Now I'm just finishing a movie and then I'll be off to bed so I can get up bright and early for the trip back to Utah. To sum up, it was a great (albeit extremely short) break and trip home.

*Actually posted on March 11, 2015 but I used the date I wrote it. I think I just forgot to post it.*

Well I'm Going Home...

Back to the place where I belong. Are you singing that song now? Its the eve before the eve of Thanksgiving. Three hours and counting until I start the drive home with two friends. I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to take a few extra days of (paid!) time off so I can go home. I don't get to go home very often and its always too short. While this is a short visit, I'll be on my way back in a few short weeks for Christmas. I'm excited for the road trip, it should be fun. And my siblings don't know that I'm coming so it will be a surprise. I can't wait to see everyone!

The one thing that I'm sad about is that I'll be away from best friend and roommate Amber, AKA Panda. We have so much fun together! She's like my sister out here in Utah while I'm away from my sisters back home. She's my Bosom Friend, for those who have seen Anne of Green Gables. Sometimes we read children's books with accents (Amber's not that great at it, but it's fun watching her try). We tell bedtime stories to each other, often made up stories about how we meet our future husbands while travelling abroad. They are are like a made for TV Hallmark or Lifetime movie. In other words, they're awesome. We laugh. A LOT. We both hate being apart and talk about how we are going to be neighbors when we're older and our kids are going to be best friends.

During the summer she went on a 2 week Europe tour and I made
her a little scavenger hunt list for each place. She liked it and took a
picture of some of them for me to see.

A closer look at the lists.

I've gone camping with her family.

Please enjoy some of our text conversations. I'm blue.

We love Pitch Perfect and using hash tags (#)  in texts.

We've started playing The Bacon Game. You replace one word in a movie title with the word bacon. Some of favorites are Legally Bacon, He's Just Not That Into Bacon, Girls Just Want to Have Bacon, The Sound of Bacon, The Secret Life of Bacon, etc. The list goes on...literally. We've been keeping track of the good ones. Try it out and see what you come up with. If its a good one, you should leave it as a comment.

Now she loves her purple hair.

That was just a glimpse into our relationship. One of these days Amber wants to come visit Oregon. That will be a fun trip. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. 

Anyway, maybe I should sleep a little before we leave, but I doubt it. I probably won't post again until after Thanksgiving, so to anyone actually reading this, I hope you have an enjoyable holiday with those you love and be safe to anyone traveling like I am.

My Life As of Late

Because I've let myself get behind yet again, I will keep it short by catching up in picture form.

This was my pumpkin for Halloween this year. Didn't actually carve it, but I like how it turned out. Maybe one day I'll see the real thing.

If you didn't already know, I've got a huge thing for polka dots. I got this sweater at Forever 21. I'm a huge fan of their sweaters. It's one of my favorite clothing items in my possession.

My friend Jensen and Porter are becoming close friends. 

Amber and I decided to have an all nighter one Friday night and both had our first Monster Energy drink to help us stay awake. I lasted until 5 AM , which is pretty impressive since I usually go to bed before midnight for work and my internal clock is set to make me tired around 10.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream!! We made shakes and threw in some chocolate chips. We also added a few spoonfuls of eggnog  ice cream too. YUM!

I just had to put this here. It's too perfect. Love Emma Stone. Love Easy A.

Amber and I decided to chalk our hair on Saturday and I messed around some more on Sunday. It's a fun and non permanent way to add color to your hair. I really liked the look of the red in my hair.

Fast forward a few days...

I DYED MY HAIR!!!

I've always been against dying my hair until I go gray because I love my hair and it's to expensive to keep it up after you start. I'm too low maintenance for that and I'd rather spend my money elsewhere. After chalking my hair, I kept thinking about adding some color to my hair permanently. I only wanted to do the ends so I could cut it if I didn't like it without being bald and it  it was cheaper. I looked at pictures online and ws deciding between red and purple. Amber, my roommate, is a red head (and I somehow managed to convince her to do it too) and purple was one of the few colors that would work for her so I went for the obvious choice. I regret nothing. I was terrified to do it myself because like most girls, I'm pretty attached to my hair and I was sure I was going to manage to screw it up. When we were buying the dye, we had to admit to the employee at Sally's Beauty Supply that we were clueless. She told us what to use and then I went home and watched a few youtube videos and then went for it. Since my hair is dark, I had to bleach it first so the read would show better.

Then it was time to add the red. 

Took this at work the next day. Rockin' the red and the polka dots. 

i love it. I Love It. I LOVE IT. 

I got so many compliments and people were surprised I actually went through with it. I was surprised I went through with it. One worker even serenaded me with Alicia Keys' "Girl On Fire". It was great.

I think a lot of people have been getting the itch to do something different with their hair because Jensen wanted to shave his hair.

It's been said that the first cut is the deepest. In his case it was the hardest. Its the shortest his hair has been in a long time or maybe ever.

Finished. He doesn't look too pleased.

He likes it. I did pretty good if I do say so myself, although its not that hard to just shave a head. 

Lately I've been in a crafty mood. I made these using cheap canvas, scrapbook paper and thumbtacks. i put some cardboard in the back so the thumbtacks would stay better and not just be poking through. 

Live. Laugh. Love.
Not a fan of the way the L turned out on love but I didn't want to fix it.

I made this banner for Thanksgiving. I'm the process of making a different one, also for the upcoming holiday, but since I'm moving at a snail's pace it may have to make it's debut next year. Sad.

Isn't it pretty?

Well, I think that's about it. Of course other things have happened, but I don't have pictures documenting them and that's okay. I'm getting better at taking pictures because it is nice to have the memories captured, but it's also good to just live in the moment and not worry about collecting the moments on film (or in most cases these days on phones). Life is for living and that's what I'm doing.

Decisions

Hello, it's me again. I'm back! Today during sacrament meeting, I was thinking about a lot of different things. One of the thoughts I had was relating blogging to the atonement. Weird, I know. A couple people had talked about writing in their journals and it made me think about how much I missed blogging. With the atonement, we can repent and be forgiven of our sins. We're not perfect and we are going to make mistakes, but we have a way to start fresh and do better. I seem to keep starting and stopping with blogging. I've faltered countless times at being consistent, but I always come back to it. It doesn't matter how much time has passed between posts. It's never too late to use the atonement in our lives and it's never too late for me to start blogging again. Writing this blog has been therapeutic for me in the past and I feel its something I need now. As with any habit, it's going to take time and work to do this regularly again, but I'll get there.

Normally, I'm pretty bad about remembering about fast Sunday until the morning of so I never really plan out what I'm fasting for unless there is something important or significant on my mind. As many of my friends and family know, I have been planning to go teach English in China through ILP for a while now. I was pretty dead set on going in January. Lately I've started wondering if now is the time to go. There have just been little things popping up and making me rethink my decision. I still want to go, but just not now. One of the biggest factors is my new position at work. It was an unexpected opportunity/promotion that came up last month. I'm happier and making more money which I can use to go to China at a later date and still have money for when I come back instead of going now and coming back close to broke. I know money isn't everything and this isn't the only reason why I've considered postponing going. I decided to fast today to help me decide and I came to conclusion to wait. So, I'll most likely be going next fall.

Since it's been so long, I have more that I want to post, but I'll save it for tomorrow.

Right Place, Right Time

I know I haven't written in a while (no surprise there), but as it's Sunday and I have time to think and ponder about different things I just had to blog. Last night my team from work got together for a bonfire. We met at work and then carpooled to the canyon. I got a ride my co-worker Josh. One of my co-workers, "Banks", wasn't going to come but we convinced him so he rode with us.We stayed for a little bit, but left early because there was just so much stuff that made us uncomfortable. While we were dropping Banks off, we ended up sitting in the car for an hour talking about different things.

Being a member of the church, I know that everything happens for a reason and I've always heard and kind of known that Heavenly Father puts people in our path because we need them or they need us. Last night was one of those times that really strengthened my testimony. I know that it's true. During work earlier yesterday, Josh and I had been talking about some things and they totally coincided with the situation and topics we talked about last night.

At the end of our discussion, Josh wanted to show Banks a video on his phone (gotta love technology) that he really loves. I ended up benefiting from it as well. The spirit was so strong in that car. I love that we can feel the spirit anytime and anywhere, even an empty parking lot at 11 PM. Banks was glad he went even though he didn't want to originally and we all agreed that what happened after we left the bonfire was why he went. We were in the right place at the right time. The Lord's timing is amazing. Heavenly Father is amazing. He has a plan for us and knows us and what we need better than we know ourselves. Last night made me want to be better at doing the basics (saying my prayers and daily scripture study, etc) to help me be more in tune with the spirit and better prepared if a similar situation arises.

The video he shared has now become one of my favorites and I want to share it with you.

 

Brown Bag?

Only at a gas station in Provo, UT would someone make a joke about needing to brown bag Mountain Dew. Oh Utah, you and your love/hate relationship with caffeine.

Crafting With Paint Chips

I have been itching to do something crafty for a while now and decided to do one that wouldn't cost me a whole lot to do because I'm trying to save money right now. What's better than free? Nothing. I got some inspiration from Pinterest and decided to use paint chips. Some might consider it stealing, and I'll admit I felt guilty taking some, but I saw on a craft blog a comment from someone that said they called a customer line for Behr and they think its great because it gets them publicity. I justify taking them because while I don't have the need for that paint right now, one day I will have a home that I get to paint whatever colors I want.

I have made two things using paint chips. The first is a Peeps banner for Easter and Spring. 

The second was to show my love for home, Good Ol' Oregon. This one was done like a mosaic. It was harder than I thought it was going to be. It was time consuming to cut the paint chips to the right shapes and sizes. I'm happy with how it turned out.

The Latest C.U.T

If you didn't already know, C.U.T is when it's Catch Up Time and I have to make up for a long blogging absence. So here goes.

Let's see...it's been so long long I don't even remember what I've been up to, which is pretty sad because I really haven't done a whole lot. 

I went home for Christmas and that was really fun. I surprised my family. Only a few people knew I was coming to make sure it worked out. It was so great seeing everyone and spending time with them, though it was short because I was only able to get a week off of work. I had tried for while to get the time off and work was taking forever to let me know if I could have the time off or now. When I finally found out I could, I thought it would be fun to keep it a secret. It was hard not spilling it when I would talk to family on the phone because they were all so bummed, but it was so worth it!

New Years was pretty low key. At midnight, my roommate Amber and I drank Martinelli's and then ran outside barefoot in the snow. We also watched the movie New Year's Eve. The next day her brother came over and I finally saw Lord of the Rings for the first time. I know, gasp! Everyone said I wasn't American since I hadn't seen it yet. We had soda, sparkling cider and chocolate milk and played a drinking game. A few minutes in we realized we couldn't keep doing full shots because we couldn't keep up. We just took sips. Never again. There was so much drinking! My bladder was about to burst by the end of the movie. It was like almost four hours of constant drinking. We were playing to see who would be crowned Lord of the Ring so you couldn't go the bathroom or you would be disqualified. I barely made it. It was painful. But I won, well, tied with her brother. Over the next week, I watched the other two. The movies were pretty good, but I probably won't be watching them again anytime soon. I still have yet to see The Hobbit, but I'm not dying to see it so it may be a while.

I was asked on a group date where we went to Barnes & Noble and read some favorite books from our childhood and then found five books that represent us. It was surprisingly fun. I wasn't looking forward to it because my roommate liked the guy and my roommates and I were pretty sure he was interested in her so I had no idea why I was going on the date. My other roommate was supposed to go on the date with my date's roommate but he asked another girl. Since I wasn't that close with this group of guys, I didn't really want to go without her. So the day of we were scrambling trying to find her a date. I turned to my awesome coworkers. One of them asked his friend who just got back from his mission and he said he would go. So Renee had a blind date. He was really nice and such a great sport for agreeing to go on a date with a girl he's never met an hour before it started. After the bookstore we went to Subzero for ice cream. It was good. I had never been there before. They make it right in front of you with liquid nitrogen. So cool!

Amber's sister is serving her mission in Korea and she get's back in a few months. Amber thinks we will get along really well. I can't wait to meet her! Amber has started watching Kdramas with me :) We've also gone to a Korean restaurant a few times. The food is so good! I can't for her sister to come back and teach me the ways of my people haha! I really want to learn to cook and speak Korean. I can pick out words here and there but I'd love to be able to have a basic conversation. Amber has actually started dating a Korean guy in our ward and he has taught us to make one dish, ddeokbokki. We've tried recreating in on our own once and it was edible. It wasn't quite as good as when Peter made it, but it turned out well for having no directions (Koreans don't measure or follow recipes). 

I cut almost a foot of my hair off!

My life right now still basically just consists of working at Vivint. Some days are harder then others, but it's a great job and I'm grateful I have it. This month, Vivint won the 2013 People's Choice Stevie Award for favorite customer service in the "other industries" category, a Silver Stevie Award for Customer Service Department of the Year in "other industries" and was listed #46 on Forbes' annual ranking of most promising companies in February. Go Vivint!

On Friday, Amber and I (along with her brother and cousin) went to an Imagine Dragons concert. It was amazing! They are so talented! We have been waiting for this before Thanksgiving. Being as short as I am, I didn't get to see a whole lot. We stood right by a gate that surrounded the lighting technician right in the middle of the floor. It was really neat to watch him push buttons and see the light simultaneously change. It was a good spot because people weren't able to stand right in front of us, except for the occasional worker. At some points I was able to see more than just heads. It was the best concert I've ever been too, not that I've been to many. It was so great hearing my favorite songs live and I definitely want to see them again.

My ticket 

In the car on the way to get her brother and cousin.

Where we ate dinner before the show. It's above a tattoo parlor! Stoneground has some pretty
good pizza, but I wasn't impressed with the service. It took forever to get the food. People that came after us got their food first. We kept looking at our waitress and when she came over and asked if she could get us anything Amber's cousin said, "Our pizza." It was funny. She said it would be out soon but it was still awhile before we got it. Pizza does not take that long.

Only picture I have from the concert. I couldn't take a picture of anything since I  couldn't really see and the quality wouldn't have been that great. I'm a little sad, but  I was able to just live in the moment and enjoy the show.

 The past few months have consisted of late night burrito runs and eating at other places (I'm such a foodie!), dance parties, hip hop abs workouts (fun stuff), game nights, chick flicks, baking cupcakes (and getting paid by co-workers for them) and more that I can't think of. They have been enjoyable. I'll be sure to get better at documenting whatever I do next.