Happy 3 years! ^__^

Yesterday marked my 3 year anniversary working at T&I (my first and only part-time job) and I'm planning to celebrate by indulging in a new outfit for my date tomorrow! Here's to another year (and a half..quite possibly) of dealing with the crazies and working with my besties!

And it just keeps getting better

Might not have had the greatest day ever, but I went out with some mighty fine friends last night and had the best time as of yet!

Helloooooo, summer!

Forgot about my impending grades that are going to wreak havoc upon my social life by going out with my besties & work friends last night ^_____^ Nothing like a good time with good people to cushion the bottom-whooping that I'll probably receive in a few days.

Then again, shopping can always compensate for that too, nee?

As for the rest of my summer plans, there's work, school, and *starry eyed gasp* maybe even summer love??

40 hours and counting

My way of celebrating the end of the semester/start of summer -- retreating to my bed. Nai nai <3

"Good morning starshine, the Earth says, 'Herro!'"

In an attempt to study for my final and finish my presentation & paper, I pulled an all-nighter for the first time since probably project grad. I feel like I deserve an A for putting this much effort into everything, but I know that's only because I'm trying my best and doing all that I can within the last possible second. Procrastination at it's finest by none other than yours truly.

That's okay though..at this point I'm willing to do whatever I can to finish, so I can reap the reward of resting my tired little head on my ronery bed. And maybe if I'm up to it, buy myself some congratulatory end of the semester presents. YAY ME!

Happy Mother's Day to ME!!

..And my mama. But mostly me since she's a veteran :p Also, HAPPY 6 MONTHS TO THE BEHBZ! ^__^

Here's my day in pictures:

 

The parentals have this thing about opening gifts before the actual day and I guess they passed it onto Tohchan, so he gave me this last Wednesday! ^___^ So proud to wear it now!!

Dad treated the fam bam to Paesano for lunch and I tried osso bucco for the first time! Yummy yummy bone marrow :9

Went shopping for a little while and bought these since I've been looking for some gold studs. This weekend definitely wasn't the best, so this was a good pick me up! ..Especially right before finals @__@

My cutie behbeh ~ all spiffy :3

My aunty came over to drop off the best bread pudding ever and left me a cute note ^__^ Thanks to everyone else who wished me a Happy Mother's Day too! I wasn't expecting it at all, but random texts throughout the day sure made me feel extra special! <3

Happy Boy's Day!! ^__^

I remember hating Boy's Day in elementary school since it meant that all of the girls had to do be extra nice to them. But now, I couldn't be happier to have a reason to celebrate! The grandparentals bought him a gogatsu ningyo that has a fan symbolizing success and a helmet for honor and I also bought him a miniature koi-nobori!

I'm so proud of my growing baby ^__^ He never fails to put a smile on my face and reminds me of how blessed I am. It's crazy to think that he was only the size of a lima bean just a year ago <3

Aroha Bash

SO. I got some mileage out of my VIP pass this year by actually staying for the concert rather than just stuffing my face in the back and bolting out. Definitely not one of my most favorite memorable experiences since I can only describe it as gross and disgusting. I'm trying to be more open-minded, but it's kind of hard to enjoy myself when I don't even listen to this type of music to begin with. Not to mention, it didn't really help when I was already getting a good glimpse of the types of people who were going especially after selling them tickets. In a nutshell ~ sweat, drugs, alcohol, and grinding to the nth degree.

And that was my cue to flash the pass and retreat to the back, sometimes all the way to the ticket trailer where I knew fer sure that everyone showers on a daily basis.

Sanjo Sakurako

I used to think people who lived a double style life were lame..but here I am doing just that. The typical weekday consists of shirt & jeans, hair pulled back, casual slippers/sandals, Mary Poppins bag, and glasses (partially to hide my bags under my eyes). ..And then Saturday comes.

Blouse: Susina (Nordstrom), Shorts: Roxy (Nordstrom), Necklace: Tiffany Keys Heart Key  (Tiffany & Co.), Not pictured -- Shoes: MICHAEL MK Wedges (Nordstrom)

 I kind of like making one day of the week special though especially because it's the only day I get to go out! Might as well have fun and feel good! ^__^

"The day was warm for April and the golden sunlight streamed brilliantly into Scarlett’s room"

In anticipation of going to Shannon's Accounting Club event last night, I ordered a chiffon dress from asos.com that still hasn't come in yet. So, I ended up going last minute dress hunting and absolutely did not look how I had imagined myself to look. Complete dork status, but I felt like Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind getting ready to go to the Wilkes' party while Mammy (aka Jaymie) fed me.

Have I your heart, darling?

As an unexperienced club goer, Jaymie and Kelli took the lead and I just followed ^__^ Wasn't really sure what to expect, but I ended up having a really good time with them and wouldn't mind a second go! ..Especially when I'm still waiting patiently for that dress that has yet to be delivered to me.

"I want you to faint. This is what you were meant for. None of the fools you've ever known have kissed you like this, have they?" - Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind

It's been one of those dancing while no one's looking kinda days

I was feeling rather thin this morning until I ate a Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell, but I felt better as I speed-walked around Pearlridge to get some last minute shopping in before school starts back up again! ^__^ Met up with Jme later in the day and had dinner at Yogur Story since I've been hearing pretty good reviews about it!

Eggs La Jolla

Eggs Santa Monica (??)

Tuxedo Mocha w/ a Hazelnut Latte in the bg

Dolce de Leche Waffles

;__; Again, guilty as charged. I swear, I can never make that one exception because I always make excuses for the following exceptions! Their savory dishes were surprisingly dericious and complemented the atmosphere so well! ^__^ I had my first coffee in a cup and saucer (I've always drank coffee from a heat insulated take-out cup :/) slash first coffee in about a year and I savored every minute of it. It was sweetened to perfection and wasn't scalding hot..just how I like it! I'm not into the sweet-salty combination, but I really enjoyed the pretzel & pecan crunch that was added to our caramel-drenched waffles. Love, love, LOVE that their waffles weren't rock hard like the typical Belgian waffles you find nearly everywhere!

We ended up staying there for a couple of hours and then headed towards our HQ -- Borders! Saw my bff Jill after closing and wanted to visit Kelli Kelli Boh Belli @ her IBO event, but she couldn't come out and I couldn't go in since I wasn't dressed to impress (-__- azn girls in double zero dresses and 5" heels while I'm in my v-neck & denim shorts, PFFT).

 

Opened up my belated basudei puresento from bestie Kybear once I got home and I've been trying to find coordinating accessories for it ever since! ^____________^  Also received some news that put me in a grand mood kinda like this:

 

 

All in all, it feels like life sure is improving..one day at a time <3

"It's 7 o'clock on the dot"

Dinner at Pietro's & karaoke with the besties from the office! We had to wait for some people who were running late, so we didn't get our food until like 90 minutes after our reservation and we ended up inhaling everything within 10. Didn't get to eat our coveted honey toast from Shokudo immediately after, but bff Jill and I went to Don Quijote since I was feeling really sreepy. ^__^ Had THE most fun I've ever had in a long time at Krazy!

My favorite!! And it got better when Marc, Hayley, & Kelli went to get take-out peanut butter chocolate honey toast!

Guilty as charged

I know, I know, I said I wouldn't eat processed sweets, but who can resist honey toast?? Well worth it? I think so..even though my stomach hasn't stopped gurgling and I feel the need to detox for the next few weeks. Would love to do this again! ^__^ "BEST DAY OF THE YEEAR!"

Spring break is here!

That means more of this:

 

One more episode of this:

And still none of this: 

Pralines & Cream and Bubble Gum

Regardless of the lack of sugar, this break has started off on the right foot! I found out that my raise is in effect, just got my hair cut, went on a little shopping spree, and had dinner with my bestie, Jaymie (marshmallow latte from Fresh Cafe ASAP)! No big plans for this week, but I'm hoping that it'll still be fun and relaxing ^__^ 

More shopping would be nice!

Chang family celebrations!

Paxton liked the fluff :3

We celebrated Paxton's first birthday at the Spaghetti Factory! It was the cutest first birthday party I've ever been to and I couldn't believe how many babies were there! I got Darian a balloon fishing rod and we took a bunch of pictures when we weren't catching up with the rest of the Chang clan!

June: "There's gonna be a lion dance, so get your dollar bills out everyone! ..That doesn't sound right especially when we're celebrating a first birthday."

We also found out that my cousin, Paulette, gave birth to beautiful baby Joshua at 6:30 this morning! Congratulations to Stuart, Kayla, & Kevin!! > w < He is so adorable and tiny!  My heart melted when I smelled him..there's nothing like the scent of a newborn (sounds weird, but just you wait until you have your own behbeh)! I can't wait until he and Tohchan are old enough to play together especially since they're only 3 months apart!

Baby Ujimori #3 ^__^

It's hard to leave without a happy heart after seeing a happy family and a healthy baby! I even stopped by the nursery to take a peak at the other newborns and passed by good ole room #425! *Sigh*

Sweets for the salty

So, today was the first time I've ever celebrated Valentine's Day without a boyfriend in 6 years. I was on my way to work and I held the door open for a girl who was carrying a bouquet of orchids. I got stuck walking behind a girl who had a glass vase filled with 2 dozen roses. I saw beaming couples walking hand in hand looking at each other as if everyone around them didn't exist. Jesus Christ, talk about adding salt to the wound.

But, regardless of the fact that I was short a significant other, I decided to celebrate by baking chocolate cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting for my office!

I've tried making cupcakes from scratch and they've tasted terrible, so I was surprised how dericious these came out! ^__^ The secret is MAYONNAISE! The recipe called for 1 cup of mayo, but it sounded like a bit much, so I used 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream. I also added a teaspoon of instant coffee mix to the boiling water since Ina Garten always stresses how coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate (not too sure how effective it was though). The frosting looks gloppy because I added more fresh strawberry puree than was called for. I used 2 packages of cream cheese and a whole box of powdered sugar to try to thicken it, but after tasting it, I quit my attempts to make it look like it came from a can. ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)  it tasted like strawberry ice cream! I don't care too much for combining fruit and chocolate, but the flavors melded well and everyone seemed to enjoy it! It reminded me of an episode of Sailor Moon where Serena slaves away in the kitchen for Rini and makes a total mess, but her curry turns out to taste really good!

Hayley, Sharie, & Jenny brought sweets too, so we had a whole dessert buffet in the afternoon!

Hayley made chocolate chip cookies with pink, red, & white M&M's! So kyoot & yummy!! :9

I even bought Kelly's famous Rice Krispies cookies from the BEST bake sale since she didn't make any for the office :< 

Sharie shared her box of mini Cinnabons that she got from Reed! ^__^ He brought her the biggest balloon bouquet I've ever seen!

Jenny brought the fluffiest cheesecake from La Palme D'Or! >__< So expensive!!

What started off as a seemingly lonely day turned out to be quite fun especially since I worked with my favorites! ^__^ And who could feel depressed when there's a babychan to come home to?? Here's to another sweet Valentine's Day with the people who mean the most to me!

Din din with the besties

It seems like the older we get, the less often we see each other. But luckily, Shannananon's birthday brought us together! Shan, Jehmeh, Shinchan, & I spent most of the night at Panya Bistro just doing what we do best -- eating and talking our heads off! We moved our party to Barnes & Noble where we did our usual routine of grabbing stacks of magazines & random books and hunting for a spot where the employees wouldn't ask us to move. It's nice to know that there's still some things that haven't changed amidst all the crazy things that happened within the past year ^__^

Btw, I chose the cake because it seemed like it was the perfect size for the 4 of us..it just so happened that it said Happy Valentine's Day on it despite the fact that we don't really have significant others to celebrate with :p

Happy 3 months, Babychan!

Super Bowl XLV

We celebrated Baby's first Super Bowl! Mom and Dad were all for the Packers, but Tohchan and I were rooting for the Steelers (appropriately dressed for the occasion in a black & yellow onesie)!

..Don't worry, there's always next year.

I'm back with a vengeance

And a new pair of RED CROCS! Heading back to work so I deemed this my welcome back present to myself after a 3 month hiatus (also because my leopard print flats are worn out). I'm not too sure what possessed me, but I felt a strange desire to buy red flats for a long time (maybe because my wardrobe is so blah?). I found these on sale & in my size too!

 Today was the last day that I went to work out of boredom and it was a good thing I did! Manager Hayley made delectable Oreo & cream cheese truffle-like delights! I daresay they were better than Godiva @__@ 

She also made me melting moment cookies for my birthday! ^__^ Sankyuu so much Hayrey! All of this food really made my day! Can't wait to get back in the swing of things on Wednesday!

And the festivities continue!

  Celebrated my birthday with Jaymie in Kaneohe! We went to Zia's and I ended up stuffing my face with bread and olive pesto. We always take forever to order because we spend so much time playing catch up..I don't think our waiters/waitresses appreciate us very much. I hardly ate my dinner, but had enough room to eat a tiger brownie ala mode! Afterward, we went to look around Ross and bought a bottle opener at Longs.

Jaymie brought a bottle of apple cider so we parked in the empty parking lot on my street and continued to catch up. I guess my neighbors were suspicious of us so they took a stroll up the street and wanted to talk to us on their way back to their house. Of course we didn't look shady..especially when Jaymie struggled to unlock her car door and the bottle of apple cider was still in a paper bag.