It seems my kitchen and I are getting along again.

Yesterday we FINALLY went grocery shopping and re-stocked our fridge.  It felt good to have food in the house again, and inspired me to try and try a new recipe for a change.  We had bought lo mein noodles and a veggie stirfry (water chestnuts, carrots, broccoli, yellow carrots, celery), so I mixed it up with some chicken, herbs, seasoning and lemon juice.  I also steamed rice on the side (love my rice cooker! ).  The end results were SOOO GOOD.  Albert rated it a 5 out of 5… I was quite proud of myself The broccoli in the stir fry was just crunchy enough on the outside, with its own juice still completely absorbed inside it.  MMMMMM.  I was even more happy at the fact that it was a new recipe I tried, and it came out soo perfect.  I wish I’d made enough for leftovers! argh. 

Anyway. 

Today I think I’m going to try something new with the leftover steamed rice I have.  Maybe some pineapple fried rice?  Me and my asian dishes, by the time I’m done learning all these recipes, you’ll be wondering if I was really born into a Mexican family, bwahaha.

I wish I would do this more often.  Cooking is so fun, even when you don’t know what you’re doing.

I’ve had a lame-ass cold lately.  So lame that I had to miss work for a couple of days last week.  And just when I thought I’d see a turn-around on Friday, I actually wound up feeling worse.  Yay me.  Yay air conditioning.

Spent the entire weekend recuperating.  Saturday with my mom, and yesterday with Albert.  Didn’t do a god damn thing yesterday, and it felt fucking gewd.  I think we fell asleep somewhere around 930?  Albert says I fell asleep earlier than that.  Everything is honestly a blur, all I remember was Sunday jumping up onto the couch with me and plopping down for bedtime too. 

I have a sudden urge to go to the gym today and get my blood flowing.  But now with the cold weather finally starting to kick in, truth be told, I just want to snuggle up under my covers with Albert and sleep the day away. Again.

The point of this entry?  A waste of time.  I swear I had more substance than this when I started off. 

Drained. 

Ever wanted something so bad that you couldn’t believe it when you actually got your way?  That’s how I feel about Sunday.
 
I’d been wanting a dachshund puppy for a long time, but never really thought it was possible granted my living and financial situation.  A little over two and a half years later and I have a 3-month-old puppy in my home.  And she’s all mine! 
 
So far its been a slight challenge adjusting to having a puppy, but nothing to extravagant.  I do have to be up earlier than usual to let her out of her crate (even on weekends), and feed her and get her started on her day, but the result from getting her started on a routine from the beginning has been very rewarding.  She picks up on things very quickly, and is becoming pretty conscious of what’s right and wrong with a simple and firm “NO” from me and Albert, haha. 
 
I love her sweet little kisses and her long ears and her cute little tail that looks like it was dipped in a bucket of black paint.  I love that she gets SUPER EXCITED when I come home from work everyday.  I love when she climbs onto me when I’m sitting on the couch and drops into my lap to fall asleep.  And the reaction she has when she knows she’s getting a treat for being good is the CUTEST FUCKING THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, ZOMG. 
 
I started taking her out for walks recently and never would’ve imagined what a stress reliever it is.  Literally, all my thoughts and worries are out the door.  All that matters at that point is my sanity, the cool afternoon breeze, and my happy little puppy walking by my side. 
 
To sum things up, its been great having her around.  She’s my little distraction from the real world.  No complaints on this end.  I can’t wait to take her everywhere!   
 
I can’t wait to see what happens next. 

At 7 weeks old!

So I was bouncing back and forth between rescues and breeders, and finally, Albert surprised me with this precious little gem for my birthday A mutual friend of ours had two doxies that had puppies, and Albert asked her to set one aside from us.  Although I’m scared to death of parenting a puppy, I’m up for the challenge.  I’ve wanted a doggie for so long and the moment is finally here! 

I swear I melted into a puddle as soon as I laid eyes on her.  But she’s mine!  And she comes home on Sunday

No name yet.  Any suggestions?

I kept telling myself that I wasn’t going to post here until I uploaded all of my pictures since my birthday shindig began, but lets face it… a LOT has gone down since then, and it would just take up way too much time to upload, then post, then caption, then code, etcccccc.
So, I’m sure you all know where this is going.  No pictures for this post.  Because there are just too many of them, I do not have that kind of time, and have a life.
So lets head back in my summer timeline and see what I’ve done since I last posted! (if I can remember any of it.)  So my last post mentioned my birthday.  And oooooh, what a weekend it was. 
Friday night I went out to Bar 107 in downtown LA with my friends and loved ones.  I gave about a week’s notice til the date and just hoped anyone would show up.  Well, it turns out that EVERYONE showed up, plus people that I hadn’t seen in years!  I had drinks being bought for me left and right, and I even remember realizing at one point that I had 1 friend from elementary, 1 friend from junior high, a few friends I knew from high school, and everyone after—- all in the same room.  All there to celebrate my birthday with me.  It was such a surreal experience.  But to know that these people, regardless of how long it had been since we’d talked, hung out—they were willing to drive out and hang with me, just for my birthday.  And that meant the world!  One of my friends asked how I felt about turning 24, and whether or not age mattered to me at the time.  I remember saying something along the lines of “you know, its not really about turning 24, its more about knowing that I’m 24 and loved that matters .”  I know I don’t act 24, but I am sure damn fucking responsible for my age.  I guess I’m just not ready to be boring yet. 

SATURDAY
Woke up fine, surprisingly.  I made it through the night without getting too shitfaced or barfing, which was my initial goal. Success!  Ha.  Got to sleep in on Saturday, did nothing for a real long time.  Then packed some stuff for the night and headed over to our hotel (embassy suites!) near Disney for our Saturday night adventure.  Checked into the hotel, had cocktails at the complimentary hour, and then took the shuttle to Disney!  Bought my annual pass, ran around both parks, saw the amazing firework show and then had some amazing alone time with my handsome man.  He waited for the right moment to surprise me with my birthday gift, which was a dachshund puppy that he scored off a mutual friend, whose dachshund pair had puppies not too long before.  (Puppy won’t be coming home for another week )  I then remember we left the park early (for personal reasons ) and then ventured around the OC in the middle of the night.  I even spotted my dream house down some random street (and will remember the exact colors for when I buy mine).  Got back to the hotel, and the rest is none of your business

Sunday_____
Recovered, went to breakfast at the hotel, back to the room to lounge around, and then packed up and headed out.  The experience at disneyland Saturday night was one I will never forget for as long as I live!  Guess you had to be there to fully understand.  Went home, bummed it, showered, and then got ready for dinner with our neighbors, who took me out to the Olive Garden as a birthday prezzie for me.  Baby Leon came as well After that, I just remember going home, recovering some more, and resting up for the next day.

MONDAY
Woke up to Albert with his nose glued to the side of my face, eyes wide open, and awkwardly whispering “happy happy birthday. happy happy birthday. happy happy birthday”.  hahahahahaha you had to be there.  Got dressed and went to my momma’s for breakfast, and then proceeded to work.  Kim (boss) and Jesa had both brought me cards and Jesa brought me a cute little vase with beautiful flowers in them.  Celia and Liz spoiled me with cupcakes, balloons and lunch from Red Robin, mmmmm.
And last, but certainly not least, Mike bought me alcohol.  Mike Burgess, the president, and my hero, bought me alcohol, mmmm. hahaha

Drove home, picked up Albert, and then went to my momma’s for her world famous TAMALES. YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS.  Had my closest friends over and grubbed and ate cake and played sober games and witchcraft and so on, hahaha.  Katie child was in town from Portland and made the drive down from Glendale to celebrate with me I felt so friggin special all the way around, aww
Opened up my presents when I got home.  I got a lot of cool birthday cards from my friends that each had their own personal touch, which I absolutely love.

Can I take this time to say that i LOVE handcrafted gifts?  Anything that someone took the time into making/writing/crafting on their own automatically wins brownie points with me.  Having said that, you can’t even imagine how excited I was to open up each card, each gift, and look to see what was said, done, made, etc.  Every gift was unique and made my smile a little brighter every time I opened up another.
Not to mention, the next day as I was leaving for my first camp of the summer (@ UCLA), I swung by Izzy’s for my birthday gift, and she gave me LAMB SHOES.
LAMB. SHOES.  I’ve never owned a pair and have aaaaallwaaaaaayys wanted a pair of those sneakers.  They are fucking CUTE AS HECK and have been receiving compliments left and right TO THIS DAY.  Pictures of those babies later.
Went to my UCLA camp on the 15th, came back the 19th.  Coasted through the week, after that, then prepared for my UC Irvine camp that happened July 29th- August 2nd.  And that’s pretty much how I got to this point.
And somewhere in between, I spent a lot of quality time with good friends, my family, and my Albert.    I’ve been going to Little Tokyo a LOT, shopping around, kick major ass at work, and have just been enjoying my summer to the fullest.  This weekend I plan to clean my room out, separate my clothes, get rid of some old furniture, purchase some new, and PAINT the remaining rooms of the apartment that have been bare since we moved in.  I hope everything goes as planned.  I guess my next entry will be all about it.  Maybe.
Aaaaaaaaaannnnnd.  Next weekend I hope to have all my new furniture built and installed and ready to go before my PUPPY COMES HOME!! Albert and I are getting a sweet little dachshund (gender not yet determined) that comes home on the 17th.

We’re actually on our way out in a bit to go meet him/her as I type this.  Pictures of that you will see FOR SURE.  *SQUEAL*

And I guess that’s all!  Things to look forward to: pre-puppy shopping, PUPPY, new furniture, Medieval Times (for Evelyn and Lito’s birfdays), (possibly) Warped Tour, Green Day, Leon’s 1st birthday party, aaaand Nairoby’s bachelorette party, AND school starts/.

One of the best summers I’ve had in a while.  For sure. 

 

That is all!  Toodles!

I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about this weekend coming up!  This is the weekend where I totally treat myself to the good stuff [as I keep it local].  Here’s a list of what I have decided to do so far:

1. I am getting fucking SMASHED tomorrow night at a bar… somewhere downtown.  I cant wait to see who turns up! And take pictures in the awesome photobooth with my awesome friends.  And not barf, since I want to keep it classy   [If you were invited, then you know where to meet me ]
2. Saturday = DISNEYLAND and hotel night with my handsome man.  I REALLY can’t wait for this one.  It’s been two years since we last went to Disneyland together, and we are gonna experience Disneyland with a twist this year.    Details [maybe] later.  Maybe not.  EEEEEEEEK!!!
3.  Monday (my actual birthday) I’m having my closest friends [AND KATIE CHILD!!! WHO IS GOING TO BE VISITING FROM PORTLAND] come over to my momma’s house in zee evening for tamales and cake and ice cream [no event is complete without ice cream]. 

AND I’m getting my hair done by my AWESOME hairdresser later today—FOR FREE!  I seriously can’t wait. ^_^

And if I come up with anything else to do, you’ll more than likely see it here.  Anyway, if you guys are attending any of the aformentioned events, buy me a drink, ice cream, make me a card, or give me a hug.  I’ll see you this weekend!

 

Life is fucking gewd.  =D

That is all

Could not have been possible without these people.

Add some alcohol, family, a buffet, a bar, and a dj and you’ve got yourself a healthy 4th of July party. 

That is all!

Toodles!