And so the hunt begins!

It's about time that I find myself an internship! I spent hours today researching internships, rewriting cover letters and submitting applications. Ugh I forgot how exhausting it is looking for a job/internship! Let's hope I find something perfect so the strenuous search and application process will be over with. There are a number of positions that I feel would be perfect for me, I just hope they are currently looking for interns. Wish me luck!

I have fallen in love

... with this amazing thing! These electronic heating pads are the best invention ever! My mom had two and gave me one :) It now follows me everywhere I go. So cozy!

One Wonderful Week

Since I missed the holidays with my family last year, I decided I was going to go back to my parents' house for an entire week. I felt like I needed the break from my life's stresses and was really looking forward to spending quality time with those so important to me that I don't get to see often. Every day was perfect, I just wish it hadn't gone by so quickly!

Monday - I just relaxed at my parents' place with my mom. I wrapped presents, ate a lot of good food, and ended the day with a movie and short Christmas light drive.

Tuesday - Tuesday was our designated baking day. We made lots of cookies that were to be delivered the next day.

(my favorite part was hand-crafting these festive cookies!)



Wednesday - We went to my hometown (about 15 minutes away) and delivered the delicious plates of goodies to a bunch of different houses. I believe Mom and I went to four of her friends' houses for tea and fun visits. Afterwards, I went to one best friend's (since first grade!) parents' house, where I got to visit with her and her family well into the night.

Thursday - Mom and I went to nearby Chico for some last-minute shopping, haircuts and a delicious lunch. I went back to Chico later that night to go out to the bars with some old friends and had a blast!



Friday - On Christmas Eve, my parents and I went to my grandma's house for Christmas dinner with some of my family. Afterwards we went to church and sang Christmas songs, one of my favorite Christmas traditions!

Saturday - Our entire family was together for Christmas and had a wonderful time exchanging our Secret Santa gifts, visiting and enjoying our delicious dinner.







(the family was impatient with my camera timer, so this was the best group picture I could get, despite many people missing)



Sunday - On my last day, my sister and I helped my mom pack for the big move (yay, it's coming soon!)

And I'll end this post with a rather interesting and unique Christmas tree. Actually, I call it the Christmas bush. It's a long story, but here it is:


Yes, it's decorated with elves with our faces on them!

Christmas Cards

I wanted to wait until the majority of the recipients received their Christmas cards, as not to ruin the surprise. My roommate and I decided to put together adorable Christmas cards to send to friends and family. We bought cute cards that have a space to put pictures in, and filled them in with these beauties:





And the adorable cards with our pictures inside...



We bought a variety of three; Christmas lights, penguins/snow, and one with a Christmas tree.




Santa hats - Check!
Ugly Christmas sweaters - Check!
Cat and her costume - Check!
Best Christmas card ever - CHEEEEEECK!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

... and I'm going back to my parents' house for a week! I'm going to be spoiled with lots of good food and love. Happy Holidays!

Finals Week

Monday - Dinner and drinks for a friend's birthday

Tuesday - Happy hour for another friend's birthday

Wednesday - Movie night with junk food and margaritas

Thursday - Hey I actually studied!

Friday - My last and most difficult final. And drinks afterwards :)

Some finals week eh?! I swear I'm not a slacker, I just had two finals and only one that was hard. Now I'm done with my last fall semester ever! Time to celebrate!!

Happy Birthday Kelly!

Yesterday was one of my best friends and roommate, Kelly's, birthday. It was such a happy day! I waited for her to fall asleep the night before and crept around downstairs, trying to decorate as quietly as I could. This is what the birthday girl woke up to the next morning:




We both had finals in the morning (booo!), but didn't let that ruin her special day. After completing our final exams, we went to lunch. Afterwards we came home and just relaxed, while I made the birthday girl a funfetti cake. Yum!



Then we headed to Outback for her birthday dinner with lots of friends. Good food, good drinks, good company, good night!



Happy Birthday Kelly!

Irish you a Merry Christmas!

I can't take credit for this clever title, my mom sent me a Christmas card last year with a three leaf clover decorated with lights and ornaments on the front, and 'Irish you a Merry Christmas' inside. My mammy is oh so clever :)

While reminiscing on last year's holiday season in Ireland, I came across this video that the girls will probably hate me for posting. I myself am a bit embarrassed hearing myself speak and basically ruin the video... but I couldn't let something like that keep all you bloggers from experiencing some amazing Irish whistle and dance. This was taken last December, after a holiday concert we attended and a few glasses of mulled wine. Enjoy!



Christmas in V270



Oh how I miss you girls <3

Gotta Love Oprah

Gapers Block: Merge - This Should Confirm Your Suspicions - Chicago News

Haha the best part about this is that I was watching Oprah's Favorite Things and can verify that all of this actually happened. Minus the bees :)

Proud Daughter

I couldn't be more proud of my Dad! The recession had a huge negative effect on construction companies and my dad's business, like thousands of others, was affected. This can be an extremely stressful time for anyone, but my dad kept his head up and kept looking for solutions. He found himself a really good job that he loves and I couldn't be more proud of both him and my mom for making this adjustment and remaining so optimistic. And there's a bonus - they're moving 20 minutes from where I live! Yay!

Cheers!

This week may have possibly been the busiest of the semester. It's hard to tell though, as every week is filled with essays, presentations, exams, or a combination of them all. Not to mention being followed by an exhausting weekend of work consisting of six hours on my feet each day, constantly running around the restaurant serving customers. Oh, the sweet life of a server and college student :) Well at least this torturous school week (and last one of the semester!) is over. I can finally breathe after two essays, an exam and presentation. Here's to the relaxation that I've been missing these past couple weeks, and the glass of wine that I so greatly deserve. And to the glasses to come... cheers!

Oops!

For the past few years my family has done a Secret Santa gift exchange for Christmas. We draw names on Thanksgiving and get to spend all our energy on that one lucky person we draw. We don't find out who everyone has until Christmas day, when the presents are exchanged. Well this year I accidentally told my sister who I had! I was casually talking about Christmas shopping and mentioned, "Well since I only have to buy a present for ________" AND ACTUALLY SAID THE NAME! I swear I'm not trying to ruin Christmas...

I'm tackier than you!

My sister and her husband hosted their first annual tacky holiday sweater party on Friday. It was such a fun night!



Everyone did a great job with their tackiness! I can't wait for next year's party, I think I'm going to make my own sweater :)

California International Marathon

It literally took one minute to walk across the street from my house to watch the marathon, so I couldn't pass that up! I could hear people screaming and cheering on the runners when I woke up in the morning. I decided to head over with my sister (who lived closer to the finish line, but it was much more fun watching together). They started in Folsom and made the 26-mile journey to the capitol. We saw them at mile 22, and I was so happy and proud of everyone! It almost made me tear up to see complete strangers cheering on other complete strangers. And I actually did a bit when some people showed up for their grandma (amazing!) and hooked up speakers and played this song:



doesn't it just make you want to cry?! Okay it may be just me and my female hormones...

I would LOVE to participate in something like this (hmmm training to start in the next few months?!), but maybe just a bit shorter :)

Well done marathon participants, you are an inspiration!

Pay It Forward

I was recently invited on facebook to 'Pay it Forward' on Wednesday, December 1st. This entails doing at least one random act of kindness or good deed for someone in hopes that they will share the kindness and spread some joy to someone else. A random act of kindness really does go a long way, and this is the perfect time of year to do so. It really is amazing what one small gesture can do. I am proudly joining the 301,868 participants paying it forward tomorrow. It doesn't really matter what day you do this, but I just think it's very important to pay it forward. After all, you may be a recipient of this kindhearted act one day when you need it most.

Thanksgiving

It was just as great as I anticipated! Here's a few pictures from the fun-filled weekend.

Thanksgiving dinner. Yum!



Dad and his favorite daughters (and me sporting my new hair color... what do you think?!)



My sister is hosting a tacky holiday sweater party this upcoming weekend, so we were trying on some of the sweaters.



Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was just as good as ours! Love, love, LOVE the holidays!!

Black Friday

I know you get the best deals and all that, but I just don't think it's worth it! I think I've went shopping on Black Friday maybe twice in my life, and it was such a horrible experience that I refuse to go again. It is just insanity! As a middle-schooler, we made a fun trip out of staying the night in the Walmart parking lot (in a car, but moved to the front of the store as a line was forming at 3 am). That experience with my cousins and aunt was a fun one, but the shopping itself I wasn't a fan of. As a young girl, I got pushed, shoved, hit by shopping carts and nearly trampled. People just go crazy over sales! I cannot stand the ridiculously large crowd and the long lines. But good luck to those brave enough to endure this chaotic shopping day. While you're doing this,



I'll be relaxing with my family, eating leftovers and drinking some wine :)

Pure bliss

I simply cannot express how excited I am to not only being spending Thanksgiving with my family, but have nearly an entire week off of school and work - yes with absolutely nothing to worry about! It's like I'm living in a dream, I forgot what this whole free time thing feels like :)

I am so excited about this upcoming week's festivities! As a new tradition that started last year while I was gone, my sister is hosting Thanksgiving here in Sac. My parents will travel down on Wednesday, staying at my place until Sunday. I'm so happy to host them! And we have a fabulous few days planned out.

Wednesday - Happy hour with the parents :) followed by pie night at my house. Two of my most favorite things in one day, drinks and pie... it will obviously be a great time!

Thursday - Thanksgiving! The whole family will go to my sister's house for the day, where we'll enjoy her fabulous dinner.

Friday - Relax/Family bonding sesh/Game day. We'll probably head to my sister's place again to hang out all day with no distinct plans.

Saturday - Wine tasting with the fam!

Now if all that doesn't sound like a great time, I don't know what does! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thankful

Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner (which btw, I am SO excited for!), I thought I'd mention those things in my life that I am most thankful for.


FAMILY - I absolutely love my family, and couldn't have asked for a better one! I have more of an appreciation for them after being so far from and not seeing them for an entire year. I am so thankful that I am able to spend the holidays with them this year. Even though last year was fabulous as I spent Thanksgiving in an Irish pub (okay not that great) and Christmas swimming in the ocean and on the beach of the Canary Islands in Spain (yes, that great!), nothing can beat spending quality time with those you love during this time of year. I wouldn't trade this Thankgiving or Christmas for anything!


FRIENDS - I have the best friends! I have a variety of great friends that are all so different; I have old friends, new friends, friends that live close, friends that live on different continents, friends that I see on a daily basis, friends that I see once a year, friends with personalities just like mine, and friends that differ from me tremendously. Even though all my friends are different and unique in their own special way, they are all amazing and I'm so lucky to have them. The older I get the better I am able to distinguish the acquaintainces from the friends and the good friends from the great friends. And I wouldn't trade them for anything.


MY EDUCATION - There is a high possibility that I am thankful for my education because I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I am, nonetheless, thankful for it. In my five years of college (ahem... yes, super senior over here!) I have gained an unmeasurable about of knowledge in not only that which I study, but in life as well. Not only am I better prepared for the workforce and life in general, but I have grown to enjoy and appreciate learning. It was just the other day that I sat in class thinking about how I was going to miss my favorite classes and how much I learn from them every day.


OPPORTUNITIES - "A window of opportunity won't open itself."

I have had so many opportunities and as I am nearing graduation, I am so thankful for all of the opportunities ahead of me. Right now my biggest challenge is finding out what type of career I want to pursue and where. Even though this is a huge decision ahead of me, I am truly lucky to be facing this positive stressor. I honestly believe I will find the job that is perfect for me. I have confidence that within the next few years I will be successful and happy with whatever I choose to do. I do believe that all my hard work and dedication over the years has led me to these opportunities, but I've also been fortunate enough to have a good support system along the way. (Let's hope I maintain this optimism throughout this recession and discouraging application process)

Warning for Sac State Women

Five women have been sexually assaulted on the Sacramento State campus this semester. The police have only identified one suspect and have little knowledge in the remaining four cases. Most of these assaults have occurred in parking structures throughout the school. Be alert and aware of your surroundings, and make sure that there are always others around.

:(

Today is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day :(



Let's hope for a better one tomorrow!

She really gets around

While reflecting on my college years, I realized I have moved to a different city every year for that past five years. In those five years, I lived in four cities.

1. Redding - I spent my first year of college living in Redding, about an hour north of my hometown. I attended Shasta College while playing basketball for the JC.

2. Corning - I moved back to Corning, my hometown, and commuted to Shasta my final year while working at a local store.

3. Sacramento - I moved to Sacramento, about two hours south of my hometown, after transferring to CSU Sacramento. I went to school and worked at a nearby restaurant.

4. Dublin - I studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland, across the United States, Atlantic ocean and about 5,300 miles from my hometown. I spent the year attending DCU and traveling Europe.

5. Sacramento - I am currently back in Sacramento finshing my degree and working at the same restaurant I was at before.

I absolutely despise moving, but I firmly believe experiences are vital to growing and learning as a person. And I feel I have discovered new things and learned about myself with each location I've lived. I am 85% sure that I will move to yet another city after graduation. I do have some particular ones in mind, but I am I open to pretty much anything. I think I could move to any city, any state, any country or any continent and be happy. Over the years I've realized that it doesn't really matter where in the world you are, you make that place home and whether you are happy or not is entirely dependent on your attitude. Even though it is a pain to move so much and the adjustment period isn't always fun, I feel it is completely worth it. I love that I have the opportunity to move and experience so much, as this is the perfect time in my life to do so. I honestly have no clue where I'm going to live for the majority of my life, or even where I'm going to be next year. But not knowing is part of the adventure and I believe that life is about the journey, not the destination.

Thank You

Happy Veterans Day! I think everyone needs to take the opportunity to appreciate and thank those who have or are risking their lives to protect our country. It doesn't matter if you agree with the war or not, these men and women deserve our acknowledgment. Thank you for all that you do!

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

... no it is NOT too early for this!

My roommate went shopping today and told me she found the most adorable Christmas decoration. All day I was looking forward to seeing what she got. I was definitely surprised!





She had this adorable ornament made! If this doesn't scream heterosexual lifemates, I don't know what does :)

This ornament definitely got me in the Christmas spirit! We are so excited thinking about how to decorate our apartment, and plan to do so immediately after Thanksgiving. I love the holidays!

Halloween Pictures

... they are finally here!


Stewardess & Betty Boop



Cali Swag doing the dougie



we were impressed with my Betty Boop eyelashes



In celebration of the Giants in the World Series (one game before they won), Ashkon also appeared at the club singing this now very popular Giant's 2010 Anthem, "Don't Stop Believing." It was a great atmosphere and such a fun night!

♥ ♥ ♥

One of my friends is going through a difficult breakup and I looked through my quote book in order to find something to comfort her. I know it doesn't really help, but I came across this quote that I find to be very true...

"Love has its ups and downs, its twists and turns. Love leaves you pain, teaches you until you learn and even if love takes you so long, it always takes you to where you belong."


I love you BL ;)

I hate being sick!

I rarely get sick, so I am a big baby when I am. Well this cold was bound to come. My throat has been bothering me for the past two weeks and I kept stocking up on the vitamin c and trying to get a lot of rest, but here I am... cuddled up on the couch with my sweats, tissues and medicine. Although I'm not complaining that this gives me a nice excuse to lay around and do nothing, which I rarely have the opportunity to do. I'm lucky to have those around me to take good care of me. My roomie made sure I took all of her medicine; dayquil, nyquil and theraflu. And my sister made me take some more medicine while I was at her house before sending me home with some of her amazing homemade minestrone soup. Thanks girls.

Halloween Weekend in SF

I requested a a well-deserved weekend off of work to spent Halloween in San Francisco with one of my best friends who lives there. It was my first time seeing her new place in the city and it is absolutely gorgeous! The location is ideal and she's on the fourth floor, where you can see a beautiful view of the city and bay bridge. We intended to go out Friday and Saturday night, but decided on a girls night in on Friday since we were both suffering symptoms of a cold and wanted to save our energy for Saturday. We had a girly night in pampering ourselves. We did each other's nails to go with our costumes, ate candy and caught up on our lives. We also managed to each take five packets of Emergen-C that night, which ended up being a very wise decision! We felt better Saturday after sleeping in, and started getting ready for the Halloween festivities! Her mom graciously bought us tickets to 'Nightmare on Van Ness,' where Cali Swag and Far East Movement were performing. If you're not familiar with the names (like I originally wasn't), you may be familiar with these songs:

'Like a G6'



and 'Teach me how to dougie'

The club was three-stories with a ton of different rooms and music. We had so much fun dancing and checking out all the costumes. The club was packed and we had such an amazing time. Definitely a Halloween I will never forget!

S. dressed up as a Stewardess & I was Betty Boop... pictures to come later :)

Journal-mania

The other day I was browsing around a store when I came across a journal that I fell in love with. I put the journal back since I had no reason for one, but I kept thinking about it and for only $5 I simply could not pass it up. I figure I will find a purpose for it later, or give it as a gift if I can't. Lately I really enjoy writing to help record my life. Not only doing I enjoy blogging, but I've recently rediscovered my enjoyment adding to my quote book. I also kept a journal for the first time since I was a little girl last year to capture my experiences living abroad in Ireland. Only now that I am back and missing last year terribly do I appreciate the time I took to record my thoughts, feelings and experiences. It's so fun re-reading what I wrote, laughing about the funny stories and looking at all the random notes from friends I taped in that journal. I figure life will take me on yet another exciting adventure in the near future and when that time comes, I will have the perfect journal to capture those memories.

The brown one is the new addition :)



Warning: Objects in photo are cooler than they appear... the best part about my new journal is the pattern which you can't see.

Twinsies

I came home from class today and found these adorable slippers waiting for me on my bed! I absolutely LOVE my roomie, who surprised me with these cozy things. Now that fall is officially here, we've found that our apartment gets ridiculously cold (it was also extremely hot during the summer - we've concluded that the insulation in our place sucks). Now that we have these matching slippers, our feet will stay warm :) I also came downstairs to study and yet again she proved herself as the best roomie ever and made me a delicious cup of coffee. I just love her ♥

Friends; Oldies But Goodies

This weekend I got to finally catch up with one of my very good friends, who I had not seen in about two years (the fact that we can't remember exactly how long means it had been far too long). She and her boyfriend came to Sacramento and we got together as soon as I got off work. We headed to my sister's place where we were awed by her homemade spinach artichoke dip and pita chips. She never ceases to amaze me. We had intentions of having a few glasses of wine before heading to sushi and a bar, but were having so much fun that we stayed at her house the entire night because time was just passing too quickly! We had plenty of wine and laughs, accompanied by bop-it and a board game that we found both entertaining and challenging.

I love that we can go so long without seeing each other (which btw needs to be changed) and pick up right where we left off, never skipping a bit. That's how you know you have a good friend. I'm lucky to have so many good ones, and a handful that I have had since grade school.

I also love that the majority of my close friends don't previously know one another, yet always get along so well and have a great time. I think that may be a result of my friends being so awesome :)

So ready...

I am SO ready to graduate! It doesn't matter that I still don't know what I want to do or where I want to be, but I just want to be finished with school already! It's funny because it was possible to graduate after this semester (although it would have been ridiculously overwhelming and stressful), but I opted for waiting because I was scared of the idea of being a college graduate with no distinct plans. Now, I say screw it! This semester may be quite possibly the semester from hell. It might have something to do with my last year being ridiculously fun and easy at DCU ♥ in Ireland and my lack of errr... motivation of receiving good grades. I treated it as my year off of complete enjoyment consisting of adventures from traveling Europe to drinking in the pubs. But also as I'm nearing the end, classes are getting a lot harder. I feel like I've worked SO hard this semester and should be nearly finished with my classes, but I'm still only halfway done. I am glad that next semester will give me the opportunity to get a much-needed internship to hopefully lead me to a possible career choice or at least some kind of direction. Right now I'm thinking interning for a non-profit organization would be extremely fulfilling and worthwhile.



May 2011, I am so ready!

Leisure Activities

I'm currently taking a writing intensive class, Perspectives on Leisure, which I absolutely LOVE. A few weekends ago our entire class participated in a 6 hour long playday, including the ropes course on campus. This was the kind of thing I successfully completed:






I couldn't find a picture of my absolute favorite, which required climbing up a 45 ft pole and jumping off the platform at the top. Most people attempt to jump and grab something similiar to this:



After observing this multiple times with my classmates repeatedly missing it, I decided to just jump off backwards. I walked to the edge and leaned back... it was a rush! But a little scary, as your stomach drops (like the feeling when on a rollercoaster).

I love that this day was a required activity for our class, as I wouldn't have experienced the ropes course, which is conveniently located on campus, otherwise. The class also stresses the importances of a successful leisure lifestyle, and I've been putting greater emphasis on my leisure lifestyle since taking the class. I used to be so active, but have neglected these activities due to my hectic schedule of school and work. But I've learned that I need to make time for these activities, and participating in them makes me a happier and healthier person. Last weekend I went to the driving range to hit some golf balls with one of my friends and today I played basketball for the first time in years after my run along the river trail. I have so much more energy on the days I make time to be active!

Chevy's Happy Hour

Chevy's Happy Hour is one of my favorites! When I first lived in Sac & was a newly 21 year old, it seemed like we went every week. Now that I'm back I've probably gone about 6 times or so. They serve $3 drinks and appetizers. My usual is a margarita (or two) and flautas. Can't beat the prices and the comida!


The perfect margaritas, although I typically prefer mine blended. They serve seasonal fresh fruit margaritas and they are amazing! My favorites are mango & watermelon.



and my beloved flautas:




... and all this is making me crave some Chevy's! Good thing we're going tomorrow in replace of girls wine night.

Quotes ♥

One of my friends has been struggling with a death in her family, so I went through my quote book and came across a few quotes that I think are very comforting in times of sorrow.

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."

"Although it is difficult to see beyond the sorrow, may looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow."

"When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure."

"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."

Love you C!



I just recently rediscovered this quote book. It was given to me as a present when I was in grade school from one of my best friends. I have some quotes in there that were given to me at a basketball camp and dated as far back as 2002 (even though I believe the journal was given to me a few years prior and I didn't know what to do with it at that time). It's so interesting to see what quotes I found inspirational, motivational and touching over the years. I love quotes and plan to keep adding to this book for many years.

Forever Young

This weekend was my friend Laura's 21st birthday, on 10/10/10! On Sunday night we went to a bar downtown to celebrate the occasion. Yes, a Sunday night. Despite her birthday falling on the worst day of the week, we still had a blast! We got there around 10ish and stayed until closing. It was a great night, but I had a very exhausting Monday school day.

With the birthday girl and all her necessary birthday gear :)




Oh and her parents were there, how awesome is that?!





Happy 21st Laura!

Not pictured are my adorable new shoes that I got for only $15! They are the black heels in the middle, I just ♥ them!