2011 In Review

I wasn't sure if I was going to have time to do a 2011 review post, but I figure I'll work on one now while Alex and I sit here watching Justin Bieber's Never Say Never (yes we are 22 years old and we loe the biebs). 2011 was an amazing year that saw a lot of lasts and the beginning of some firsts.

In January I passed the torch as president of the Alpha Chi chapter of Alpha Delta Pi at UCLA. Being president during the year of 2010 was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, so I was a bit sad to pass the torch. But the new president, Brittany, did an amazing job and she is now going to be passing the torch as well- to one of my best friends, the wonderful Katie.

In February, I participated in UCLA's Dance Marathon for the 2nd year in a row. You can see a post about it HERE. DM was an amazing experience and I wish I had done it all four years of college.

In March, our chapter won the most outstanding chapter on our campus which was a huge honor and great testament to the work that my exec board and all the girls in our house did during 2010.

I also took a super fun trip to Disneyland during spring break with Alex and her brother. And I started my first real job with the LA Sparks.

In April, I turned 22! I also went to Stage Coach, which was soooooo much fun! I saw Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker, Rascal Flatts, and more! It was AWESOME and I seriously can't wait for Stage Coach 2012!

In May, there were a number of lasts... Last Diamond Ball, Last Bash, touching the Inverted Fountain, last pre finals dinner, Senior Week, etc. Myself and all my senior lovlies made the best of every moment!

We also went to Vegas for Memorial Day weekend which was an absolute blast! Two connected rooms with 10+ girls... As you can imagine, debauchery ensued.

 In June, I GRADUATED!

June, July, August were filled with lots of work and lots of fun. Jack's Mannequin concert, Harry Potter midnight premiere, KNOTBSB concert, trip to the Bay, OC Fair, Blake Shelton concert (as you can see I really like concerts) and more.

Blake Shelton, Jack's Mannequin, Looking like the three blind mice in our Harry Potter 3-D glasses, and my little goat friend at the OC fair.

In August I moved home to Fresno and started my current job. Even since moving, I have had time for quite a few fun trips- Taylor Swift concert, wine tasting in TMec, Trip to Sacramento, Lake Havasu, UCLA Football games, and the list goes on. There are posts about many of those things...

November and December have been all about family and friends with Thanksgiving and Christmas, and now my little beach getaway and New Years Eve plans in SF.

I'm rockin these to ring in 2012!

2012 is going to be full of completely new experiences and opportunities and I can not wait to see what it has in store for me and my friends and family.

This Is Hilarious...

As someone who really is in to "a little bit of everything" (and doesn't have a ton of time to post full blogs posts right now) I found this "What Your Taste In Music Says About You On A Date" list absolutely hilarious.

Some of my favorites (taken from both Part 1 and 2):


Britney Spears: If you're a gay guy or a woman, you're normal. If you're a straight guy, you're trying to get laid.
Fleetwood Mac: You're reasonably well adjusted. Considering.
Radiohead: You're angry and hurt. But you're open to getting some professional help.
Green Day: You get upset over nothing all the time, but bounce back quickly.
Justin Timberlake: You seem really lame at first, then turn out ot be awesome.
The Who: You're a generally open, curious person, but you get really riled up when people cut you in line and stuff.
Red Hot Chili Peppers: You're not super-interesting, but you're nice enough and you're certainly not going anywhere, so...


Check out the full lists via the links above. And thanks to the sorority sister who posted this on someone else's wall, allowing me to see it indirectly.

The foggy beach is calling to me now though. I'm off for the day to do more of this:

 

Thank Yous & A Beachy Getaway

First things first, thank you to the lovely new girls who are following me! Alyssa, Ashley, and Janna- I still am so new to this that I want to thank each of you individually. I am a follower of each of these girls blogs and if you aren't you should definitely take the time to go check them out!

Alyssa (of Simply Alyssa) blogs a lot like I do- Everyday life type of stuff. She always has some adorable photos (she's definitely a pinterester!) and who could like a girl that appreciates the art of a random dance party just like I do.

Ashley (of Sweet Tea In Siciliy) is obviously amazing because she shares my name, but there is more! Not only are we name twins but she is on an awesome adventure sharing her very first year of marriage with her readers all while finding her way in a foreign country! I can't imagine how tough it would be to live in a place where you don't speak the language, but this girl is finding a way to make it happen and I'm loving reading about it.

I just recently started following Janna (of Perception is Everything) and have not gotten to read up on her adorable little blog as much as I would like to but she got me with her adorable sometimes/always paired with her "versatile blogger" award facts. Quite creative and I can't wait to read more.

I don't plan to do this with everyone who follows me, but right now I am still so appreciative of any views/comments/follows I get that I wanted to give them a quick little shout out =)

Next, I know I said I would try and post while I'm on my little trip this week... But I'm not sure I am actually going to have a ton of time to do so. I am still going to try, but if I don't I will be back to full and regular posting next week.

In the mean time- here is a little of what I was up to today!

Obviously I will give full details later, but I am currently on a little trip to Sea Ranch, CA with my best friend (we've known each other since grade three) and these were a few pics from our quick outing to the beach earlier today.

Sometimes/Always #3

Once again I am linking up with one of my favorite blogger girls for a Tuesday "Sometimes/Always". If you have not taken the time to go check out Megan please do so. Seriously, I am no one to be promoting her- but she is such a sweet heart and has been nice enough to check in on my little blog over the past couple of weeks which I sincerely appreciate.

Sometimes: I think it might be a good idea to chop off my long hair and donate it to Locks of Love.

Always: I'm too afraid that I just wouldn't look good without long hair to actually go through with it.

Sometimes: I fully intend to take a bajillion pictures when I'm out somewhere fun so that I will be able to have documentation of all the cool stuff I've done.

The ONLY picture we took last Friday when we went out for drinks

Always: I end up having too much fun and forgetting to take pictures. (Hopefully this one will change now that I've got my new camera!)

Sometimes: I wish I could be more crafty (especially when I'm on Pinterest!).

LOOK HOW COOL THIS IS! VIA

Always: I know it's not gonna happen. God just did not make me a crafty person.

Sometimes: I go multiple weeks without cleaning up and my space becomes a complete disaster.

Always: I spend hours (finally) cleaning up, but have a great time doing it- cleaning/dance party in my room!

This afternoon I am off to my best friend's beach house for a few days, then heading to the bay area for the Bruins bowl game and New Year's Eve! I will do my best to keep up with the blogging. I have a few things I want to post about this week, and will be bringing my computer along with me... so hopefully it works out!

Christmas Time- Family Photo Shoot

I hope everyone reading this had a fabulous Christmas! Using my brand new camera I gave myself this year, I forced my family to do a photo shoot on Christmas Eve, and I wanted to share the results of that with you all here. I'll share more pictures from Christmas later this week, but here are the ones with just my little family. And for those of you reading this outside of CA, yes- it really is that sunny and beautiful on Christmas here!

I am starting with my favorite photo by far- This is what happens when my brothers imitates the way I pose for pictures (but then quickly moves so it can't actually be captured on camera).

Here's the whole fam together...

... and of course my personal photo shoot with each person.

I hope Santa was good to each of you. If you are on a break from school or work this week (like me!) enjoy it! 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I hope that you all have the absolute happiest of holidays with your family and friends! Enjoy the food, gift giving, and time to relax! Merry Merry Christmas everyone!

My brother and I on Christmas long ago

Yes I really was that adorable as a child =)

Keep an eye out for Christmas 2011 pics next week!

Merry Christmas... TO ME!

I would love to say I have all my Christmas shopping done, but that would be a lie. I don't think I am going to be all done until after New Year's! I just LOVE getting presents for my friends and family, and since I don't live in the same town as most of them I can draw out my shopping until I see them next.

But this post is going to be about the couple of presents I have gotten for myself this holiday season!

Two tickets to see Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, and Thompson Square when they come to Fresno in March- This was probably most exciting because this gift was FREEEEEE. After listening ALL DAY last Friday to my local radio station (Y101) and failing to win the tickets, I got an awesome surprise this Monday when I received a call from the station saying I had won in their online giveaway! Kinda wish I would've known that was going to happen since it would have saved me from hearing Paradise (Coldplay), Mr. Know It All (Kelly Clarkson), Kiss Me Slowly (Parachute), and The One That Got Away (Katy Perry) over and over and over all day long. Seriously Y101- I love those songs, but you need to get some more variety.

I also recently bought myself the Urban Decay Naked Eye Shadow Pallette. I couldn't help myself after reading about it on multiple blogs. Safe to say I am extremely happy with the purchase!



My new baby! Isn't she pretty?!



Last but not least- I got myself a brand new Canon Powershot digital camera! Amazon was having a deal and selling this camera for $80 off its normal retail price and because I barely use my camera anymore seeing as it just takes terrible pictures... I could not let this deal pass me by. I can't wait to test this baby out at Christmas with the fam, and NEW YEARS with the girls!!

Since most of us can't reveal what we got others here on our blogs, tell me- what did you get yourself this Christmas? If you want to give me a little Christmas present... Click that follow button or follow me on twitter =)

Sometimes/Always #2

I had so much fun participating in the wonderful Megan's link up last week that I just had to do it again today! Plus I felt like such a star because both Megan and one of my other fav bloggers, Chelsea, commented on my post =) So here goes round two.

Sometimes: I fully intend to keep a note in my phone when I think of a Sometimes/Always during the week.

Always: I look for that note Monday night and remember I didn't actually write one down =(

Sometimes: I write/edit blog posts during work...

Always: I read through most of my Google Reader in between tasks at work (just reading blogs isn't too bad right?!)

Sometimes: I send my friends quick iPhone video/vlog updates on my life. They may think I am a nerd, but they totally love my videos.

Watch this if you wanna see how much a of a nerd I really am... One night while bored I editing together tiny parts from a bunch of my videos to my friends into a random minute long clip.

Always: I am so excited when I get little videos back!

Sometimes: I spend all day in bed/on the couch watching episode after episode of a show on netflix. (Like this weekend when I watched all TEN episodes of The Lying Game over the course of the weekend)

Always: I try not to be a complete bum and make sure I get out of the house for SOMETHING over the weekend!

Sometimes: I try REALLY HARD to wait for my coffee to cool down before taking my first drink.

Always: I end up burning my tongue anyway =(

Thats all for today! Apologies for the lack of pictures (I may or may not have written most of this at work hehe) I found so many great new people to subscribe to after last weeks link up so if you came over from Megan's link up please check out my other posts while you're here and subscribe if you like what I'm doing =) I am really making an effort to up my blogging now and so far it is going quite well if I do say so myself! 

Weekend Update

Since I haven't gotten to go to any holiday parties this season (and I had to miss a couple of GREAT ones in LA) I am going to count the party I went to this weekend as a holiday party by default. It was actually a graduation party for my good friend Luke. I've known Luke since middle school so it was so much fun to get to celebrate his graduation from college with his family and friends. The party hosted at his parents house was lovely and we had a great time playing with all the little kids that were there (there were five little babies there ranging in age from two years old to only three months old!). I could not get over how adorable two year old Maddie was- although I could not understand a word that came out of her mouth. Seriously, understanding toddlers must be a skill that comes with being a parent... Cuz it is certainly not a skill I've acquired yet.

After the party at his parents a group of us went back to Luke and (his wife) Leena's place and continued the party there. We had a great time playing games, catching up with old friends, and getting to know some new ones! It was honestly one of the most fun evening/nights I've had since moving back home to Fresno. Of course I completely failed to take a single picture so I am waiting for Leena to put up the few that she took, but for right now I've only got this one.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend! I am so excited to have only four more workdays until my Christmas break!!



What I'm Loving (This Week)

Lots of people do what I'm loving Wednesday's but I want to do it on Friday as a nice wrap up to the work week! Here are some things I'm loving this week!

1. New blog friends and people to follow! After participating in my first link up on Tuesday I was so pleased with all the people I found, followed, tweeted, and left comments for... I have so much to catch up on (seriously my Google Reader is overwhelmed) but I can't wait to read and discover more.

2. Spinning classes- I recently decided that I need to get my butt back to the gym. For me spinning classes are the best way to get a crazy awesome workout and enjoy myself at the gym. I'm not a runner- wish I was but I just don't have the natural ability or will power to make myself build it- so indoor cycling is a GREAT cardio alternative.

3. Grad School Info Sessions- A few of my friends know of my struggles between grad school and working and my inability to force myself to study for the GRE but this week I attended a webinar for the grad program I am most excited about and it has reinvigorated my desire to apply. This means I will once again be devoting myself to those GRE books in hopes to get my completed apps in by February!

4. Mid week nail polish change! This is Revlon's Copper Penny. Its a great holiday gold/copper and one of my current favorites.

5. Only FOUR more work days until Christmas and A WHOLE WEEK OFF! Which means my countdown to New Year's in San Fran with my favorites will also begin soon =)

These girls

This city

+ 

=

Crazy Fun New Years Eve

6. My new video editing software- Those that know me well know that I wish I were a professional vlogger. Well I recently acquired Sony's Vegas video editing software and I had a great time playing with it and making this little compilation video from the footage my parents filmed at my graduation last fall. The vid is a little long, so check it out if you want to- I'm more putting it up for my fam to see =)

That's all! What are you loving this week?

Three (Random) Things Thursday

I love lists. Today's post has one, and so does tomorrows... Hope that is okay with you!

1. Have you guys noticed that most of the songs in Apple product commercials over the years are INSANELY catchy? If you watch TV at all I'm sure you've seen the most recent one with Grouplove's "Tongue Tied". That song just makes me wanna bounce and dance along.

But then back in the day there was Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and The Ceasar's "Jerk It Out" and The Fratellis' "Flathead" and The Vine's "Ride" (just to name a few). They are all so bouncy =)

I miss this silhouette commercials a little bit. And after watching all those I'm ready to go buy a new iPod...

2. I am already thinking ahead to New Year's Eve, and all I know is I want to do something that allows me to wear something sparkly.

Like this...

Or this...

Pictures via Pinterest. Follow me HERE.

3. Have you guys heard of T-Shirt quilts? Well my good friend Bethany's mom made her an ADORABLE T-Shirt quilt from all her high school t-shirts... and ever since I have been DYING to make my own from all my sorority shirts (if I don't make them in to a quilt I will continue to wear them...). This weekend's project may be sorting through my mess of sorority shirts and buying the essentials to start my quilt. If you guys have ever made one I would love some tips!

I need to turn this...

Yes that basket is filled solely with ADPi shirts.

... in to this!

That's all for today! Don't forget to click that little follow button and/or follow me on twitter! Happy Thursday!

Sometimes/Always

Megan of Mackey Madness started an adorable little series that she has been doing on a weekly basis called Sometimes/Always. This week, I've decided to join her. It's a pretty darn simple concept. You guys will catch on quickly.

Sometimes: I wish I were fashionable enough to wear heels on a regular basis.

Always: I consider myself so lucky to be able to wear my favorite boots to work.

Sometimes: I get in my car and just drive.

Always: I come back to where I belong.

Sometimes: I feel like an old lady for going to bed before 11pm.

Always: I wake up happy I went to sleep early.

Sometimes: I wish I lived in another state.

Always: I remember I've got a pretty sweet deal worked out with the California sun.

Sometimes: I sing along to the radio quietly while I'm driving with others.

Always: I belt out my favorite songs when I am driving alone. 

Sometimes: I start a new book before I've finished the one I was already reading.

Always: I finish them both eventually.

That is all for this weeks Sometimes/Always, go check out Megan and all the others who are joining the fun (link above)! To catch all my updates click that follow me button! Or follow me on Twitter... I always post new updates there.

Don't Stop Thinkin About Tomorrow

These days most of my friends would label me the queen of country music, but those who know me a bit better know that my taste in music extends to just about everything (sorry dubstep I just can't get into you). When I was a little girl I thought that I was going to be a back-up singer/dancer for Bruce Springsteen. I could often be found singing "in the wink of a young girls eye..." (my favorite song was Glory Days) and dancing around my living room. My obsession came from my dad's taste in music. All we ever listened to in my dad's car was 95.7 The Fox- Fresno's Classic Rock.

Recently, I've been dying to listen to something a little different (I may have overloaded myself on country just a little). A quick jump over to Pandora and the creation of a station based on Lindsey Buckingham's amazing "Go Your Own Way" brought some awesome classic rock back into my life. I'll give you a very short list of some favorites below.

Go Your Own Way- Fleetwood Mac: Obviously I had to start with this since I already mentioned it once above. I love the crazy, tangled web that makes up the story of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, John and Christine McVie, and Mick Fleetwood. Obviously the whole Rumours album is incredible, but this song is heartwrenching and empowering all rolled into a compact three minutes and forty seconds.

Glory Days- Bruce Springsteen: Again, I mentioned this song above already but it never ceases to bring a smile to my face and remind me of those days dancing around in my living room.


Heartache Tonight- The Eagles: The Eagles was another greatest hits album that was listened to on repeat in my parents cars. My young brain thought the lyrics to this song were "there's gonna be a party tonight." Pretty valid if you listen to the descriptions of a night that gonna "last all, last all summer long." My realization that the song is talking about a 'heartache' and not a 'party' did not make me like it any less, and to this day it is one of my favorite Eagles songs.

Layla- Eric Clapton: This song was one of my dad's favorites, and became my inspiration when naming my car =) The guitar in this song is nothing short of awesome. And just listen to those lyrics, that Layla must have been quite a girl.

Peace of Mind- Boston: All those bands named after places back in the 70s (Boston, Kansas, America just to name a few). This song is perfect for all of us who need to remember to slow down and find that 'peace of mind' sometimes.

I Won't Back Down- Tom Petty: Love me some Tom Petty. Enough said.

Susie Q- Creedance Clearwater Revival: Yeah they've got some awesome songs like Fortunate Son, and Have You Ever Seen The Rain... But if you were a child of disney channel then you remember the movie Susie Q (with Amy Jo Johnson aka the Pink Power Ranger as the title character). Therefore I obviously had to choose this CCR song here.

Dreaming-Blondie: Blondie was another favorite in my house, and this song just makes me happy. Although I was very close to picking "The Tide Is High", "Heart of Glass" or "Hanging on the Telephone" here (yeah I really like Blondie) but I thought it was appropriate to end the list on dreaming.

There are honestly soooooo many more artists I would like to include but if I keep rambling on and on no one will continue to read. So to make things a bit shorter I'll just mention I love Bon Jovi, Heart, Aerosmith, Steve Miller Band,  Def Leopard, John Mellencamp, The Who, etc etc ... the list could go on but I'll stop there.

In conclusion, THANKS Dad for listening to all this awesome music. I might not have appreciated it as much when I was little, but I definitely get it now!

Dad and me on Catalina Island last spring (sorry Mom, I cut you out of the pic... LOVE YOU!)

blog title courtesy of Fleetwood Mac's Don't Stop

Tonight, We Are Young

In a time when myself and many of my friends are going through dramatic changes in our lives- you know, with the whole job search/real world stuff- I think it's important that we remember... WE ARE YOUNG. We still have so many things ahead of us. It's easy to get scared or depressed and think that our best days are behind us, but that is simply not true. We are young. There is still so much fun to be had. Let's set the world on fire... Over and over and over again. And to all my friends, I will always be there to carry you home.

I love the original version of this song by Fun, but I'm not going to lie Glee's version is pretty freaking amazing!

Life According to My iPhone

So much for consistent posting... And I had been doing so well!

Oh well... I apologize for the week+ long abscense, but I have been a horrible combination of busy and lazy since Thanksgiving. I just wanted to stop in and say stay tuned because I have a few posts cued up that I have been waiting to post. In the mean time, I just stopped in to say hello and offer up some of my life recently according to my iPhone pics.


I just had to share this first photo. Bethany and I (along with a few other friends)went out while she was home in Fresno to the most amazing, worn-down, country, hick bar in town- Jimbo's. While at Jimbo's we were all having an amazing time people watching, and we could not help but enjoy watching the hilariously adorable old man who was trying to dance with all the cute young girls in the place. That old man turned out to be "Captain Jack"- apparently a well-known guy in the Shaver lake fishing circles... My friend Keith had met him before and apparently formed some sort of bond with him because Captain Jack was very excited to meet us, and give us a couple of his Captain Jack Trucker hats.

The other big thing that happened recently is detailed below. A wind storm in Fresno wreaked its havoc on the town and caused PGE to have lots of work to do restoring power to people all over Fresno.


1 and 2



3 and 4



1. Foggy Mornings- I LOVE the fog in the mornings. It makes it seem like we're living amongst the clouds.

2. Power lines down behind my house.

3. The cause of the downed power lines... A wind storm hit Fresno and brought trees all over town tumbling down. This tree fell from my neighbors yard into the street behind our house.

4. Fire and candles during our night in the dark ages.

If you're curious to see more from the recent power outage, here is a video I sent to my former roommates telling them about what happened and showing some of the damage. Also my dog makes a random appearance. And check out all the leaves in the wind dumped in the pool. My dad had a GREAT time cleaning that up.