THANKSGIVING!

Alrighty kids, I know I promised you a photo of the monkey suit. I must confess, I almost forgot about it because I've only worn it twice now that I've got an actual REAL job to keep me busy n' such. That's right folks! I am now a Sales Associate for a store called Loehmann's. For those of you who have never heard of it here's a brief description: Loehmann's is a retail establishment that sells discount designer products and merchandise-very similar to stores such as Ross and TJ Maxx but Loehmann's sells much higher end stuff. So there you have it. I must say, I am enjoying working there so far and most of my coworkers I get along with well and I like spending much of my time with them. I feel very lucky to have snagged up a good working position. I was starting to panic for a while there. PHEW! So as I promised... here's pictures of the monkey suit. TADA!




Now that I got that out of the way... Happy LATE Thanksgiving to everybody! I hope the day was wonderful as was mine! This was my first Thanksgiving on my own and I wasn't entirely up for preparing an entire turkey by myself so I found a simple crock pot recipe and slow cooked some turkey breast and stuffing. We also had some mashed potatoes and gravy, candied yams, cranberry sauce, sweet hawaiian rolls, and 3 pies. (We originally had 1 pumpkin pie, but Ryan came home with 2 other pies. His reasoning... They were on sale.) Kevin was out of town visiting some family so Ryan and I enjoyed a candle lit dinner for two. Though I really missed seeing family and friends it was a great day to relax and pig out. *Sigh* I sure love Thanksgiving. :D








I think he liked it...

Ooo-ooo, Eee-eee, Ahh-ahh!

Hullo hullo my dear friends and family! You all may (or may not) be wondering what's been going on with me in the last month and, to be honest, nothing too exciting or extravagant has occurred but a few small ones have. I'm definitely one to enjoy the small things in life so all of the following brought me happiness and joy. :D

Ryan and I were able to make it to the Orange County Fair before it ended and then shortly after the LA County Fair started up. We munched on yummy cotton candy and giant turkey legs. We were also able to see a really interesting display which featured real human body parts which was to show and teach the public more about the human body and how it works. We also entered the world of Jurassic Park where there were life-sized dinosaurs that blinked and moved. Quite fun I must say! There was also a small bird show which featured a hawk, an owl, a falcon, and a vulture. All were quite impressive birds but the vulture was the most intimidating because of its size and wingspan.






In order to show their employees their appreciation Ryan's company rented a suite at the Angel's stadium where we were able to watch the game and enjoy food and drinks. The view of the field was amazing and it was really fun to be able to interact with everyone without having to yell over the noise of the crowd. The Angel's won the game which was a great ending to a fun and relaxing night.



I was able to see my friend Amy and her boyfriend Zack and though we only saw each other for about an hour it was fantastic seeing them both. Zack lives up near LA and Amy came to visit him for a weekend. On her last day in town Ryan and I met up with them at Seal Beach and hung out for a short time. It really lifted my spirits and was so fun seeing some familiar faces.



Ryan's birthday was on September 23rd and coincidentally Muse was playing a show that night so Ryan's boss pulled some strings for us and got us tickets to the show. Now everyone knows how much I enjoy Muse but I was especially excited for Ryan to see them because no one really understands how amazing that band is until they see them live. FABULOUS! The show was great and the band, as always, did not disappoint. Of course we found out that no one here in the OC quite understands how to behave properly at a concert. Everybody just sat there starring instead of getting up and jammin' the music.... I guess I'm just spoiled by the rockin' crowds in UT. The best part of the show was just before Muse went on a guy pulled his girlfriend up onto the stage, got down on his knee, and proposed. They were such a sweet couple and, of course, she said yes.




Ryan has an Uncle who lives out in Lancaster and we got to stay and visit with him and his family for a couple nights. All I have to say is authentic Filipino food is YUM! During our stay we ate quite a bit of food as well as sang a lot of karaoke... Ryan and I scored a 96 singing Ricki Martin's 'Living La Vida Loca.' Because we were so busy stuffing our faces and flapping our gums into a microphone we didn't take many photos but we were able to get a few shots of this cute lil' guy. He sure enjoyed singing into the microphone as well!



I had a spontaneous moment one day while I was at a shopping center waiting for Ryan to finish work. I spotted a hair salon and marched right in, sat in a chair, and told the hairstylist to chop it. I wanted to avoid getting a bob cut but still wanted to have some shape to my hair so I had her do an A-line with minimal layers. I was glad I did it and I feel a bit more grown up with a pinch of sassy thrown in. (P.S. Ryan was quite surprised when I picked him up shortly after.)


One last little thing to mention. I still haven't been able to find employment just yet so to get the ball rolling and at least have some form of income Ryan's boss decided to give me a promotions job which is extremely part time but it pays pretty well for what the job requires. Ladies and Gentlemen, my job is to dress up in a monkey suit wearing a hula skirt and coconut bra and parade around attracting potential clients. YESSIREE! I must say, its quite fun! I don't have to talk to anyone and I give lots of hugs and take pictures with people. I don't have any pictures to post but as soon as I get one I will be glad to share it with everyone. Until then, this will have to do:

Fun stuff

Ryan and I were able to attend a Dave Mathews Band concert at the Verizon Wireless amphitheater a few days ago. It was so awesome and even though we were so far away from the stage, in the very back seated on the grassy lawn, the sound was great and our view was astounding.




A couple days ago I spent quite a few hours at the DMV and after a lot of waiting around and a lot of paperwork I was able to register my car and apply for my California license. I'm happy to report that all was successful and my car is now equipped with California plates and my new DL should arrive within the next few weeks. When I arrived home that evening I was so exhausted and starved so Ryan and I grabbed some food at Costco and went to see Despicable Me. I've never had a better tasting hot dog than the one I had that day. :d


To show their appreciation Ryan's work provided him with baseball tickets so yesterday we spent the day at the baseball stadium and watched the LA Angels battle it out against the Tampa Bay Rays. Although the Rays started out strong with their first hit being a home run, the Angels kicked ass and beat the Rays winning 12-3. An awesome game and an awesome day... even though I got burned and I am now forced to sport my super cool farmer burn lines.

The BIG move!

I made it to California! I am no longer a Utah resident, though I will always be a Utahn... I think its embedded in me whether I like it or not. The move itself went pretty smoothly and I've managed to unpack all of my belongings and settle in. I haven't done all that needs to be done but I'm getting closer to accomplishing those tasks. I have been applying for jobs at nearby stores and have had one interview so far, cross you fingers that I'll find good employment soon! My dear sister Kari and my friend Lana crammed into my packed car with me and kept me company for the long drive down and stayed for the weekend. Was very nice to spend time with them both and to have some good laughs to help transition me to the new area. Ryan has been very helpful as well and making me feel at home. His work recently had a 'Casino Night' themed party which was quite fun to attend. Many of his coworkers I have already met so it was great to see them all again. I've also met a couple of our neighbors who are very friendly and welcoming. Having good neighbors is ALWAYS a wonderful thing. :D I know this blog isn't entirely detailed but I promise there will be more to come! I'm quite excited to see how everything from here on is going to pan out and I wish to share it all with whoever is interested.


Moi driving

Kari being silly

Lana and all my stuff

Our toes...with fresh pedis :P

BEACH!!!

Ryan, Heather and I at 'Casino Night'

MoO

Not too much has been going on with me but there are a few things to report. Back in March I was able to go visit a good friend of mine in Boston. While there we saw Muse in concert which was FABULOUS as always! We also managed to hop on a bus and travel to NYC for a couple nights. I have to say it was such a wonderful trip and I was so happy to be back in the city...one of the few places where I actually feel like I'm home. We visited some yummy restaurants including the famous 'Serendipity', looked down at the city from the top of the Empire State Building, did some shopping, and even managed to get ourselves into a taping of the 'Jimmy Fallon Show!' We had a lovely time in both New York and in Boston.

A week later it was Spring Break so my sister Kari, Brother in Law Jordan and I took a road trip out to California to visit Ryan. Was very nice relaxing on the beach and showing Kari and Jordan the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They seemed to really enjoy themselves as did I. I had quite a difficult time leaving but had to return to finish spring semester....of which I finally did mid-april.

Since returning from Cali I was able to start working as a Cashier at Target so now I am doing what I can to save every cent possible in order to move to California at the end of July. Its a bit stressful since I only have a few months to save and find a decent and affordable car before I leave, but seeing as how everything I've planned for in the past hasn't worked out I am set on making this work no matter what.

I'm sure everyone's heard of them by now, but there's a band from Provo, UT named Neon Trees that's made it to the big time and because I'm so proud and excited for them here's a song from their newly released album 'Habits'.




MuSe!

Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity's

View from Empire State Building

Downtown Manhattan

BEACH!

SUNSET!

Man O' man O' MAN!

So pretty much I've been feeling like this....



ALLL DAAAY LOOONG!! It is driving me nuts as well! I have things to get done before tomorrow and feeling this way is making me sluggish and lazy. BOO! :( I really shouldn't be complaining though since I am the one who did this to myself. Last night I was out with friends and we saw the movie "500 Days of Summer" --what a great movie!-- and afterward everyone wanted to go out dancing but my friend, Nessie, and I were really not in the mood so we decided to stay back and hangout at the apartment and watch another movie. We ended up watching a really oddball zombie movie titled "Fido"...though it was highly entertaining, it was seriously soooo DUMB! THE most bizarre movie I have ever seen...and that really is saying a whole lot! After the movie finished and everyone else came back from dancing we hung out a bit longer. Ness and I ended up spending the night over at Amy's where the 3 of us ended up blabbing some more until 6am before we finally got to sleep. YES...we are quite strange gals....but at least we know how to enjoy each others company right? So there's my reasoning for being so tired today and have the urge to slack...more than usual. ;)

For anyone even remotely interested...here's the trailer to that crazy movie..."Fido." I HIGHLY recommend watching the trailer...but do yourselves a favor and forget about watching the movie itself. NOT WORTH IT!



P.S. I MISS MY RYAN! :(

CRUSH THE CASTLE

I am ADDICTED to this game! MY bf sent me the link a few months ago and I just tried it out cuz it really is pretty silly....and a bit gruesome. But seriously! Now, every free moment I have I find myself playing (if not catching up on episodes of 24-GO JACK!). Because I'm in a mischievous mood I'm posting a link. I DARE YOU to NOT get addicted. :P
Crush the Castle

P.S. My dad plays this everything night when he comes home from work and til he goes to bed. THANKS RYAN! ;)