Rocky

Seeing that we may only have moments to live I feel I should get some things off my chest.  *Note: Apocalyptic Confessions are not synonymous with Shameful Admissions, there is a difference, that I am sure of, though I can't necessarily pinpoint the exact differences, perhaps the level of vulnerability? 1. In second grade I convinced my classmates that I was fluent in sign language and held the record for fastest signing in the world. I would then demonstrate by very quick hand motions. 2. I was the one who moved the pillow that then exposed the wall that my sibling ran into while playing a made-up game which in turn resulted in a head full of stiches. (They were using my bed and my decorative pillows...it is a long story.) 3. In sixth grade I convinced my classmates that I was fluent in French (because my grandpa was French) and I basically said my name and my mom's maiden name over and over while throwing in other sounds that I at the time felt sounded l...

This morning I woke up around 5:30am to the sound of my mom calling out that it is a snow day today. Then muffled little cheers emitted from the bedrooms of my three younger siblings. My mom is a school bus driver so she was just as excited as they were. Snow days are like impromptu holidays that just sprout up over night. With snow days come their own traditions depending on the family. With my family, snow days mean: 1. Sleeping in till you can't stand it anymore. 2. Wearing your pajamas, not putting on makeup and while you are at it, not brushing your hair all day. 3. Bundling up over your pajamas and shoveling/salting the driveway and clearing the cars. While you are on a roll just go over and do the same for the elderly neighbors. 4. Going sledding if its the proper type of snow. Yes, there are proper types of snow for all sorts of things. Sledding, snowballs, safe driving, making igloos/ snow forts, etc. They all require different consistencies. 5. Comeing in (after ...

Up to me leaving for Kansas I had been (well, still am) quite the busy bee. I went to bed at 3am and got up at 7 or 8am many ah times this week. Design work, troubleshooting, dental appointment, dinners, meetings, Christmas partays and galavanting across Diamond Bar, etc. It has been a fantastic whirlwind (well, not the being sick, but the rest of it I have loved). So many things to do, so little time. With World Mission Summit up around the bend and Christmas time drawing nearer, I don't foresee things slowing down any time soon. Before leaving to visit my family, I was able to meet up with several friends and students. Thursday night one of my Chinese teachers, Eric wanted to treat Sara, Citrin and me to dinner at BDC Tofu House in Koreatown. While I am in Kansas he will be traveling to Chicago and then New York City and later to DC and won't be back till March, so it was a great last hurrah or more like a 'see you later' kind of dinner. I am loving the barley t...

During the Chi Alpha Christmas party we threw for our students we tried something new and put together a little photoshoot/photobooth area. We transformed the garage door into a studio area with streamers as our backdrop, my photography lights, props, and a mini printer to boot. From left to right: Wei. me and Eric, my summer Chinese teacher. n__n We have done photoshoot areas before for our Thanksgiving celebrations but we have never done this at our Christmas parties and we have never printed them out, we usually just post them on our website. We printed 4 to a sheet and each sheet was 4x6 so we all got cute little mini pictures as souvenirs.  I thought I would include some of my faves of the night. Though there are a zillion more on our website .  All I have to say is that I love my friends. They are too too funny. I have another Christmas party tomorrow night and then I have a couple days of work and then I will be off ...

My grandmother was a seamstress and worked for actors like Clark Gable, made clothing for the actors on Hawaii 5-0 and worked for Lee Jeans for several years. My aunt made wedding dresses and could hand bead the most intricate designs. My mother has always made my Halloween costumes, my doll clothes, and has a knack for making complexly designed quilts. I can make pillows, really really janky pillows.  I truly wish my family's sewing-gene was passed on to me. In a way it was but I was never really good with geometry and measuring. I like to "eyeball" things, so needless to say everything I make is a little wonky. But I am thinking with the guidance of my mom, I might be able to make a blanket coat. Basically you take a blanket and add sleeves. (No, not a Snuggie, how dare you.) I have even seen some where the sleeves are made of another material like suede or something which I think I would like, it would help break up the pattern. I've found these beautiful ...

My mouth is on fire. (I'll explain). For the past couple days my wisdom tooth on the lower left side of my mouth has been making a ruckus and I think the surrounding area is infected. I haven't been able to eat much except for the ibuprofen I've been eating like its candy. I'm holding off till next Monday when I have an appointment to get an adjacent tooth extracted because it broke a couple months ago. I think that once that tooth is out of the picture, the wisdom tooth will have less to complain about and I should be fine. Until then though I have been looking up home remedies to fix the infection/toothache and awfulness. Most of what I have read is of the same consensus to swish salt water mixed with cayenne pepper and a lot of garlic. There are also suggestions of taking garlic pills and biting down on garlic. Evidently it has antibiotic-like properties. So needless to say my mouth is on fire and it smells like garlic. Vampires beware! Which brings me to a party...

Advent has started and the Christmas season has officially kicked off. I only have about 5 presents bought out of about 40 that I need to buy/make. It has come to my attention that many of my friends aren't fans of Christmas music. Though I am not a Christmas-music-fiend or anything I do think that you should seize the moment and listen while you can. (I'm not a fan of listening to Christmas music or watch Christmas movies any other time of the year). Needless to say I have gradually made a Christmas playlist on Spotify that I am quite enjoying. It is mixed in with other music as well, though I thought I would split it into two playlists. Yes, Dolly Parton's Little Drummer Boy... it's not Christmas season till it's played. That song brings back memories of my childhood, decorating the house and readying ourselves for Christmas while blaring that song through our old speakers. Mmmm... makes me think of hot chocolate too. I like mixing old with new, spiritual w...