It's been a long time...

Wow, I haven't touched this blog in a while.

Lots has happened since then.  No worries, I'm still getting married haha.  Just that lots of planning, school stuff, etc., has happened!

Darryl and I pretty much have the whole wedding planned.  We've booked all important vendors: photog, videographer, got the cake picked out, dress, florist, DJ, VENUE!, etc.  All that's left are the guys' clothing (tuxes, suits?), the favors, and the paper goods (menu, programs, invites, etc).

Now I'm starting my "diet."  I'm going to try writing down what I'm eating so I keep track of my calories.  I'm going to attempt to eat around 1500 per day!  I'm pretty sure that my normal calorie intake is like 2200 (which isn't BAD...... just not good for weight loss).

Maybe I'll try and keep track of it here too?  Keep me accountable!  Today I consumed around 1290 calories.  If I don't eat before I sleep, it should stay that way...

I went to two really nice weddings (one for friends and one for family) since the last time I made a post.  I'll post some pictures of the friends' wedding since I was actually in that one and got some professional photos back!

Bridesmaids

Bridal party!

 With the bride

 Candid!

With the handsome fiance

 ...and guess who caught the bouquet?

Hopefully one of my bridesmaids catches MY bouquet!!!!!  That'd be fun :)

Re-entering the world.

Finally uploaded pictures from my camera.  Here's an outfit from a couple weeks ago (when it was still HOT outside!)

Top: Renn - Nordstrom TBD dept. - circa 2006?

Skirt: Ann Taylor LOFT - on sale for <$10!

Shoes: Steve Madden "Melrow" - got 'em for like $50!

I need a mental (almost done with one of my papers!) and emotional break, and blogging is one of my escapes, so FUCK IT.  I'm back!

Pretty sure that my life is going to remain in its current state for a long time so I've been getting used to it.  It's actually pretty easy acting like I don't know anybody, but some people are nice and actually initiate interactions with me.  5 more draining days of school/tests, and then I get to be free for 3 weeks!

Some plans:
- Reading all 20 million magazines I've been ignoring for the past 2-3 months.

- So. Many. Movies!  Inception, Eclipse (yikes..), Easy A, The Town, and anything else I can get my hands on.  I just watched Avatar and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button--loved both!

- Staying away from shopping, except in VEGAS!

- Going to Vegas once during break.  Darryl and I are finally splurging on a luxury hotel after all of our free rooms at random casinos.  Encore King Suite, here we come!

- Helping Darryl clean up his room at home--he's moving back for a year before his job starts.  That's going to be a very dusty challenge....

- Oh whoops, outlet shopping in Cabazon with some high school girlfriends.  I guess Vegas is not the only time.

- ...and hopefully LOTS of cooking and baking since I haven't really had time to (these are some of the recipes I'll try to tackle: spiced applesauce cake, cranberry orange scones, and scalloped tomatoes with croutons.)

Update on life

So... it's been a little rough lately.

I'm almost done with my first round of midterms and I cannot wait until Thursday is over!  Midterms haven't been difficult, but the studying has been.  My cohort and I are notorious for studying too hard; I guess we believe you can never be too prepared?

On the bright side I'm enjoying the NFL and Fantasy Football.  Who else watched the Vikings/Packers game Sunday? AMAZING!  Brett Favre was like public enemy No. 1 to me at the beginning of the game (dirty married man..), but I have to admit he is a bad ass.  Playing through a messed up ankle and almost pulling out a win!  Ridiculous.  If that was his last game ever, I think he can still be proud that he gave his all.

While I've been studying nonstop for midterm after midterm, I have also been taking care of two sick dogs.  Even though I have had the help of my mom and dad (my brother's been in Japan for the past 2 weeks--the worst part of the sickness) it has been very difficult. 

Someone thinks she is a model!

The dogs before it got BAD.  You can see the pain in Junior's eyes...

Although the little one (Rosie - Little Miss Cow) is back to 100%, my oldest dog Junior (12 years old) has been fighting for his life!  After a very long at-home attempt to get him well (and a veterinarian change), he had a 5-night stay at a new veterinarian's hospital because NOTHING was working.  We finally have him home and he is improving every day, little by little, but he is still fighting a life-threatening infection.  Our first doctor was completely inept, but our second doctor has been a godsend!  He was aggressive with treatment, and it's been working.  We'd practically given up hope before the new doc came into the picture!

I do support adopting from animal shelters, but be aware of kennel cough (an upper respiratory infection that is VERY common in shelter dogs).  It is a BITCH to get rid of in older dogs, so keep your new dog away from your old dog until you KNOW kennel cough will not be an issue (10-day incubation period before it reveals itself).  

Rosie is young and strong so she fought it in a week or two, but Junior has been fighting it for at least a month, and he isn't completely out of the water.

Let's hope the little guy gets better!

Done!

Today was my last final for the summer.  I can't believe I'll be taking my first grad. school class in a few weeks!  It's been a fun journey getting here with the rest of my COMD cohort :)

Fall quarter is going to be hell, but at least I'll be able to commiserate with others.  One thing that I know will make school a bit easier is a new laptop.  After the first couple lectures this summer, I knew I needed a laptop so that I could take faster notes during class.  I was able to find a SUPER good deal on Amazon.com for an Apple MacBook (Apple MacBook MC516LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop), though.

I was going to get it through the Apple store originally, but on Amazon I was able to get the student discount automatically, free shipping with an Amazon Prime for students account, and NO TAXES!  So basically I saved like $100.  It's still expensive, but it'll help when I have to take copious amounts of notes in the graduate classes.  And it'll get me through boring breaks between classes :)

Can't wait for my upcoming vacations!  Seriously, people, comment with recommendations for places to eat and go to while I'm in SF, Napa, and Palm Springs!  I will appreciate it so much!

Life update.

I've been doing a LOT of fashion posts, so here's a personal one.

Summer classes have been stressful beyond belief!  As some of you know, I received my Bachelors in psychology in 2008 but have decided to switch to the area of communication disorders (COMD) to become a speech-language pathologist.

I just took my final for a cleft palate/CP/dysarthria class on Monday, but I barely studied for it since I was in Vegas for the 4 days leading up to it.  I drove back home on Monday morning and pretty much slept until I had to drive to class! 

My research class is all I have left, but thankfully I don't NEED to do well in it.  The rest of my grad. school cohort and I are SO over school, it's funny and sad at the same time.  We've only been taking 2 undergraduate classes this summer (albeit hard ones) and we want to die, and next quarter we're going to be taking 3 graduate level classes and 1 undergraduate class at the same time!  I think we're just unmotivated because we're already in grad. school and have been working our asses off getting straight "A"s the past year.  We deserve a break, right?

Some things to look forward to this fall (since school will suck):

• UCLA football - the BF and I always get season tickets, but our tailgating group is slowly dwindling as people move and go to grad. school.
• Cute fall clothes, hehe.  Like new boots!
• My birthday in October.
• Kacey coming back home from Japan for a little while!!  :)
• Going out drinking with classmates?  Yes, please?  We'll need it!

I planned two trips with classmates for the few weeks prior to Fall quarter.  San Francisco + Napa with one classmate, and Palm Springs with a few others.  My friend and I are planning on going to SF for one day and Napa for another.  I can't wait to eat at Blue in SF and visit a few select wineries up in Napa.  I'm SO mad that Ad Hoc will be closed when we're there, though.  Boo.

One of the Viceroy pools.

Any must-eat or must-do things in Palm Springs?  I've NEVER been as an adult so I have no idea where the hot spots are.  We're staying at the Viceroy and cannot wait to relax with drinks by the pool.  It's going to be amazing.

"Sweet Disposition"

So I think I'm gonna be cheesy and pick random song titles as the titles of my posts.  Most will probably not have any special meaning, so don't read too much into things.

I'm so glad that this "week" is over!  Well, I still have to meet with my research group to discuss the Introduction section of our paper, but that's nothing.  Definitely made a couple mistakes on my midterm, and maybe one on my quiz--nothing dreadful.  I really want to impress this professor since he's the Chief of Audiology/Speech-Language Pathology at one of the Veterans Administration hospitals.  I would love to work in the hospitals my first few years out of grad. school, and the VA system would be an amazing place to learn more and be challenged!

To "reward" myself I decided to do some online shopping of the Nordstrom anniversary sale.  I honestly didn't see too much I wanted, and what I did want was too expensive.  I settled on a few items, but spent $200 to get free shipping haha.  I plan on returning most of it...

I've been golfing a lot lately (at night), so my uniform is Hard Tail yoga pants + a comfy shirt and jacket to ward off bug bites.  Since I only have one pair, I decided to splurge on another since they were on sale.

 Hard Tail Roll Waist Pants - $44.90

I can probably find cheaper yoga pants elsewhere, but lately I've been reminded that you really get what you pay for since my Target and F21 clothes are falling apart as we speak.  I've had my one pair of Hard Tail pants since 2006 and they're still going strong!

Ella Moss "Sedona" shorts - $98

These shorts were just way too adorable to pass up, but I don't really tuck my shirts in.  I love that it can be dressed up, and it would be cute with tights and boots when cold weather strikes.  If I try it with a bunch of tops tucked in and none work, it's going back.  We'll see if it's worth the price when it comes!

Tarnish stripe scarf - $23.90

I'm a big scarf fan, but I surprisingly do not have a scarf with grey tones in it.  I'm a big fan of the brights :)  This is probably gonna be one of the two things I keep since it can be worn during the summer or winter with almost anything.

DV by Dolce Vita "Ontario" sandal - $29.90

This sandal came in so many different colors, it was difficult to pick one!  I've been wanting some crazy-colored sandals (hot pink or turquoise), but the rational side of me decided that white was a good choice.  I've been wanting the Steve Madden "Sanfrann" sandals in white, but I'm pretty sure they've been sold out since last year.  These are my consolation prize!

Girls' day out.

 Just stopping to smell the roses.

Lovely day at the Huntington Library with a couple girlfriends from the graduate program I'm in.  There were so many gorgeous, vibrant roses at the Rose Garden, but we could not find the "Just for Joey" rose that a woman told us was a must-see.  I think she was pulling our legs...

This little duck was leading her nine (yes, nine!) ducklings to another area of the lily pad pond.  She was VERY protective, as she should be.

As a big Lost fan, I couldn't help but think of the infamous bamboo forest as I walked through here.  I'm such a nerd.

The Desert Garden was not as boring and arid as I thought it would be.  In fact, it was one of my favorite gardens, aside from the gorgeous Japanese garden!

I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to start off the summer.  But, I am looking forward to even more trips to enjoy my last days of freedom before a crazy Masters program! 

Some of my future plans:

• Bike riding around Venice beach
• Napa and SF
• Vegas (as usual)
• Palm Springs @ The Viceroy
• Lots of new foodie restaurants

Amazing!

So, surprise of the decade, CSUF actually accepted me!

I was 1 of 12 acceptances out of 400+, but, in the end, I decided to stick with CSULA. I'd definitely miss my classmates, professors, and the money I would be throwing away living in Fullerton. I'm super excited to start in the Fall with some of the good friends I've made while taking post-bacc. classes :)

I've been pretty lazy about Yelp lately, but I did go to the LA open event last week. It was fun! Here are some pictures. Cheesy and not cheesy.

Darryl and me.

Marthie, May, and Me (all future Speech-Language Pathologists!)

(500) applications to Fullerton...

Ummmm, yeah.

If only I knew about speech-language pathology 2 years ago instead of 1 year ago!

So, in good news, CSULB is NOT done sending out emails for interviews despite saying they would be done on Friday March 12. In bad news, 500 people applied to Fullerton (wtf), and I still haven't gotten an email from CSULB haha.

I'm 99% sure CSULA is accepting me, but now I know that it's CSULA or nothing. Maybe I should get some teaching credential applications started....

Thankfully only 180 people applied to CSULA. Yay for less competition.

Just got done with my first of three finals. Can't wait for tomorrow to be over! Possible celebratory drinking, dinner, and desserts with some fellow test takers after those are done. Then it's SPRING BREAK!!

LB Fail...

So CSULB didn't send me an email about an interview...

I'm not sure how I wasn't a top candidate considering my GRE was great and my GPA was good. Maybe a million people had a 4.0?

Jeggings...

Love the idea, hate the term--it's almost as annoying as recessionista. I absolutely hate sticking my real jeans inside socks so that I can pull boots over them, but sadly I haven't found any that work with my Asian calves. Some day you will be mine, jeggings!

As you can tell, I really only blog when I shouldn't be blogging: finals, midterms, etc. This time it is finals, and they are probably the worst I've ever had (even counting UCLA). I blame it on cumulative neuroscience exams based off of 20 lectures, 500+ learning objectives (basically questions that are answered by said lectures), and my lack of motivation. The other classes are cumulative as well, but they aren't as crazy difficult. Le sigh... Good thing I like Dr. Ivory, or else he would be my sworn enemy at this moment.

If I made the cut-off, I will potentially have an interview at CSULB for their Masters program in Comm. Disorders. Kind of exciting. My dream is for CSULA or CSUF, though... let's hope CSULB doesn't find this blog entry... ;)

Just received Precious from Netflix. I hope that it doesn't make me hate Sandra Bullock for winning best actress at the Oscars instead of Gabourey Sidibe, haha. I was actually really interested in the Oscars this year despite not seeing 99% of the movies in the running for awards (I saw Up and Star Trek hahaha.) I used to be SUCH a movie buff. I blame this on Darryl... whoops.

Speaking of Darryl, everyone keeps asking me when I'm gonna get engaged. Ask that fool instead!

Done!

I just turned in a paper and took a final exam today. Thankfully that was all I had this quarter, so I am officially done with my first quarter as a post-bac! Due to budget cuts they are NOT accepting any more post-bac students, so I am super happy I applied when I did. I feel like this will also make getting into grad. school a lot less competitive. I'm feeling more hopeful every day that I will get into a good program next year :)

I celebrated being done by watching the Laker game when I got home. Sadly that was not something to celebrate...

I also just watched He's Just Not That Into You, and I must say that it was really annoying. I'm not sure how it got such good ratings on Netflix; I guess it's because it is pretty true to life and people respected that. It seemed to just perpetuate the idea that marriage is bad. Movies always make marriages seem so life-sucking and love-sucking. Most married couples I know (granted they're old people) seem to have really solid relationships, and some have been together since their teens. These real-life couples give me hope :)

In the end, I gave it three stars on Netflix, meaning I "liked" it, but only because I liked 75% of the ending.

On another movie note, I saw The Hangover this past weekend with Darryl after eating at Yard House, and I LOVED it. It was such a ridiculously hilarious movie, everyone should go watch it! *Warning, it is a bit crude.

Fun Stuff

I never really post about my weekly activities anymore...

This past weekend was good. I had a LOT of schoolwork to do, but I managed to do most of it on Saturday. I hung out in Fullerton because I went to Darryl's roommate's graduation/brunch on Sunday. Graduation was super boring, as is expected, but The Cannery restaurant in Newport was really nice. Despite the niceness of the restaurant, OMG, the 55 fwy into Newport is FTL. They really need to do something about that. Until they fix that, I don't think I'm ever going back to Newport on a weekend or other peak traveling time.

I also ate at Sonic like twice, watched Star Trek (REALLY GOOD!), played a lot of Skipbo, and ate at Souplantation. I love Souplantation... they need to build one by my house! ASAP!

Hanging out with high school friends was a bust :( I think we just need to set an exact time and date. If something is set in stone, we're bound to go.

My group project/presentation turned out well. My stomach was in pain afterward, though. All of that nervous stomach churning prior to and during the presentation must have done a number on me. I cannot wait until this quarter is OVER! I have a two week break after my last final, and then summer school begins. My classes should be pretty chill, though. After talking to some classmates I realized that I might not actually want to have Summer 2010 off. They said three classes in one quarter is bad enough, but four classes per quarter for two quarters in a row is pure hell. :( Hopefully it all works out so that I can go to JAPAN!

On Friday I believe we will be having a mini shabu^2 meeting at our favorite joint in MPK. Be there or be square, people.

First steps.

Tuesday morning at 6 a.m. I finally get to enroll in my grad. school classes!

I'm so excited to finally be starting the next chapter of my life. Even though my undergraduate days and classes were fun, I feel like they didn't really matter since they couldn't get me a real job. Now I'm finally taking classes that can get me a real job, haha.

I'm going to sign up for Intro. to Communicative Disorders, Neuroscience of COMD, and The Development of Verbal Behavior in Children. I think they'll be relatively easy, mostly because they're undergraduate pre-req courses, and I've already taken neuroscience and tons of developmental classes as an undergrad. Also, I've sat in on some COMD classes at CSULA before, and I knew everything the prof. was talking about. Maybe that's why I'm so excited...? I felt like I knew nothing during discussions at UCLA... now I can finally be one of the smarter people in class!!!