Well, it has definitely been awhile.. I really

Well, it has definitely been awhile.. I really am awful and staying consistent with blogging, but it crossed my mind today so I figured I’d check in. Since my last post a lot has happened, obviously. Some things that happened and were not blogged about would be: me getting my license (in November), me getting my new car (in January), my new tattoo with Sammy’s ashes in it (a couple months ago), me getting a new kitty (just last month), and me being moved up to serving at my job (just last week)!

I know I have spent a lot of time on here complaining about not being able to drive and thought it was crazy that I never shared that I did eventually get my license and a car. I took an hour driving lesson literally the day before my behind the wheel test and it helped a ton but I definitely could have used a bit more practice, but somehow I passed! After that, I still didn’t really feel like I had my license because I still didn’t have a car, but a few months later my dad and I went car shopping and voila! I got a 2013 black Hyundai Accent hatchback and I LOVE it! I love my car but I love the freedom that comes with it even more. It’s so nice to be able to run to the store, or go get food, or just drive around whenever I want to. I no longer have to rely on others to get me where I need to be on time. I no longer feel guilty about my boyfriend having to do all the driving because now I can help out. Ah I just love it! 

I also finally got my sunflower tattoo with Sammy’s ashes included in the ink. It was so important to me to get this for him and I absolutely love it! My friend Buzzy Jenkins did it for me and if you’re ever in the city of Orange, check out Fine Tattoo! He did such a great job! It was definitely a painful 3+ hours, but it was well worth it. 

I finally got to a place where I was ready for a new cat. A few weeks after Sammy’s passing, M and I went to Petsmart just to look and she immediately caught my eye. She’s a maine coon just like Sam was, but her coloring was much different. I went back a few times just to look because I felt like it was too soon, but eventually I was ready. Once my mom met her and gave it the OK I went for it. Once I finally met her, I was a little worried. The woman at the adoption center told me she’s a little moody and she hissed at Mikey right away. I was seriously debating it at first, but decided to give her a chance once I heard how many people before had met her and changed their minds. She is six years old already and had probably seen a ton of kittens come and go before her. Once I took her home she was a COMPLETELY different cat! I still can’t get over it. I have had no problems with her at all. It’s been a month and I think she has only hissed twice if ever and it was never at me. She’s such a sweetie. I definitely made the right choice with her. 

After three and a half years (my job takes FOREVER to move people up) I am officially a server at my work! I have my last day of training today and my first real day this saturday. I am a little nervous, but I know once I’m completely used to it, I’ll love it. Already, the money is just so much better! I just need to get a little more comfortable with the flow of things. I had my first spill yesterday and it wasn’t even a serving shift, but it was bound to happen. I’m just crossing my fingers that tonight goes well!

That’s all for now. After tonight I have the next two days off, one of which is the 4th of July! I hope you all have a great one! 

So this is something I have wanted to make a post about for a little while now, but haven’t because it has been a little difficult for me. I’m not even sure why I feel the need to write about it, but I have been trying to make a habit of writing about big events in my life and my life has definitely been changed within the last six weeks or so.

I lost two lives that were very dear to me within a week of each other. Mid-January, my cat, Sammy started acting very strange and my mom and I knew something had to be wrong. He wasn’t eating. He randomly began going to the bathroom all over the house, and he wasn’t taking care of himself like he used to. I know I haven’t posted too much about him, but he was seriously the best cat ever. He was in my room 24/7 and I called him my best friend all the time. We took him into the vet and they did a few tests on him. It took about a week before the results would come in and everyone told me he would be fine. I tried to be optimistic, but in my heart I knew something was really wrong. Two days before the results would come in, I stayed in on a saturday night just to watch over him. I could tell he was suffering and I spent the whole night holding him and crying because there was nothing I could do to really comfort him. I felt so so bad, and even now as I’m writing this, I’m getting emotional. When monday morning came, I went to the vet with my mom and Sammy, praying the whole time in the waiting room that there was some way he would be alright. When the vet finally called us in, he told us it wasn’t good news and that Sammy’s liver was failing. He said there was little to nothing that could be done and unless we wanted him hooked up to IVs for the rest of his life, that this was the end for him. I completely lost it. I had tried to prepare myself for this but there really is no way to do that. I held on to him and didn’t ever want to let go. When it was time for him to be put down I stayed with him as they put him to sleep (this is before he is completely put down). As he was falling asleep he kept trying to crawl to me, but he couldn’t. I held on to his paw and pet him until he was passed out. And that was that. I said goodbye then because I don’t think I could have handled hearing his last little breath. Some people may find it ridiculous that I am still so emotional over losing him, but I was so incredibly attached. For cat lovers, you know how much personality they have and how easily it is to love your cat. I spent the whole day in my room crying until I was forced to go to work. I had never lost anyone so close to me before. I am planning on getting a tattoo with his ashes in the ink within the next month or so to remind myself of him.

On top of this great loss, the very next week, on a wednesday, I woke up to some awful news. I was getting ready for class and decided to go on instagram. As I was scrolling through pictures, I came to one my cousin had posted with him and my Uncle Jimi. Underneath the picture he wrote that my uncle was in the hospital due to a tumor bursting in his brain. I immediately texted my dad to ask what was happening. My dad called me and was crying and I completely lost it. He said this would probably be my uncle’s last day with us. My Uncle Jimi had been battling leukemia for the past nine months and had been slowly improving after getting a bone marrow transplant from another uncle of mine. A week or so before my uncle was hospitalized my aunt noticed a change in him and asked the nurses and doctors to do an MRI on his brain to see what was wrong, but they assured her it was nothing. Well, it ended up being a tumor pressed against his brain and that tuesday night it erupted and began bleeding into his brain. He was put into a medically induced coma at that point. After hearing all of this, I opted out of going to class and drove straight to the hospital. It amazed me how much family had been there with him all morning. I have an extremely large family and everyone who lives in California showed up to be with him at the hospital, and those who don’t live in CA were already making flight arrangements. It was very emotional for me seeing my family in this much pain. Seeing my dad, grandma and little cousin (Uncle Jimi’s son) crying was the hardest for me, personally. When I arrived there, my Uncle Steve went with me so I could go and see my uncle. It was so strange seeing him there. He was obviously physically there, but it was just different. For anyone who knew my uncle, they know how crazy and full of life he was. He always had a huuuge smile on his face and was constantly cracking jokes, so to see him there so quiet and peaceful was a little eery. I was at the hospital for at least six hours, with family going in and out of the room with him. At one point, a counselor came and took everyone into the room to say our final goodbyes. This was by far the hardest time for everyone. We all talked about our best memories with him and told him how much we loved him. We all took our turns hugging and kissing him and holding his hands and then we had to leave. Around three or so, it was time for us to let go. My aunt and three cousins  went in to be with him for the last time. I had never seen such heartache. The next week was the funeral, and also the first time my entire family had been together in at least ten years. In times of tragedy, it is so inspiring to me to see how quickly my family will be there for one another. Although, it wasn’t under the best circumstances, I loved having everyone together. My uncle will be so missed. He was definitely the comedian of the family and was always the first to make a smart ass comment on anything. He always called me Avril Lavigne, except he pronounced it Ay-vril. I’ll never be able to listen to one of her songs without smiling and thinking of him.

 

RIP Sammy & Uncle Jimi ❤ You are both so incredibly missed & loved.

New York!

Since I’ve been home for almost two weeks now, I guess it’s time to tell you all about my trip to New York! It is so crazy to think that after all of the planning that went into this vacation, it’s all over now. Ever since I was ten years old and went on a brief trip to New York, I have loved that city! Soon after, I added NYC for NYE to my bucket list and at the end of last year I decided it had to happen on the New Years Eve that I would finally be 21! It just made sense. So last summer, once Mikey and I had saved enough for our plane tickets, we bought them and our trip was officially happening. 

We left two days after Christmas and spent about eight days there. It was fantastic! We were a little unprepared when it came to day-to-day planning, but we figured it out. Mikey’s aunt lives in New York, so we were super fortunate to stay in her extra apartment. Hotels were crazy expensive the week we were there! She lives right by Wall Street so we were in a really cool area near the water and everything else was just a subway ride away. We had a list of major things that we definitely wanted to do such as Time Square for NYE, the Statue of Liberty,  Central Park, the Met, Ground Zero, Broadway and we ended up doing it all.

Our first full day there, I was thrilled to wake up to it snowing!! Coming from Southern California, I haven’t had that experience aside from trips to the mountains. Once we put on all of our layers and figured out the subway system, we wandered around near Central Park and spent the day in the Metropolitan Museum. They had a new Andy Warhol exhibit which was amazing! After looking around at a ton of beautiful work, we decided we were pooped so we grabbed a NY hot dog on the way home and hopped back on the subway. We also decided to head down to Little Italy and China town. Lucky for us, they were in walking distance from our apartment. There is so much to look at there we ended being gone for quite some time. I tried some noodles from China town and we got cannolis from Little Italy which were delicious!! The night before NYE we decided we would freeze if we waited outside for the ball to drop, so we ended up researching some parties that were going on in Times Square so we could stay warm and still be apart of the madness. We chose a party going on at the AMC theatre which was just a block away from the ball. There were four floors to this party, free movies going on the whole time, DJs on every floor and an open bar! Since we got there around 7 and had plenty of time to kill we decided to grab some drinks and see Les Mis. It was such an amazing movie. I had already really wanted to see it so it was awesome that it fit into our night so well. After that we did a little dancing and then at midnight we headed out to the balcony to watch the ball drop with everyone. It was such a magical moment and night.

The following night was our night to see a Broadway show. While researching all of the shows the day before, we found that Paul Rudd was in a six week production and immediately decided that would be the show we saw. It was a really interesting story and Rudd played a character much different from his usual goofy roles so that was cool. The theatre was smaller to begin with so there really were no bad seats, but we were 5th row center so we were up close to all the action. After it ended we headed out of the theatre and noticed a crowd waiting near the gates that the cast would exit. I guess it is somewhat normal for the cast to come out and sign autographs before leaving so we decided to try our luck and see if we could meet Paul Rudd and the rest of the cast. The play also starred Michael Shannon and Ed Asner so I was pretty excited! After much waiting in the freezing cold, they slowly started coming out.. And finally, Paul Rudd emerged! He was so nice and so grateful to everyone who was there. He took the time to sign everyone’s playbill and he was smiling and laughing the whole time. 

While in Times Square, we saw advertisements for a Harry Potter exhibit and decided to check that out at well. It ended up being super cool! They had a ton of the original outfits that the cast had worn throughout the movies as well as original props that anyone would recognize! I was chosen to be in Griffyndor so that was awesome. The only bummer was there were no pictures allowed. Unfortunately, Liberty Island was closed when we went so we decided on the next best thing, we took a ferry ride by it so we could get some pictures. It was pretty neat! We also went to an art exhibit near Madison Avenue. It was in this old armory building and involved a ton a giant swings and a large sheet dividing the room. It was absolutely beautiful. And, on a side note, Jesse Tyler Ferguson from Modern Family was right in front of us in line. I didn’t want to disrupt his day out so I let him be, but it was exciting nonetheless. Mikey’s aunt said the Moma was a must so we all decided to go and check that out. It was such a cool building and had a ton of crazy exhibits. What amazed we was all of the Monet’s, Picasso’s, and Van Gogh’s. I was actually star-struck when I saw the original Starry Night. I’m no art connoisseur, but that is a painting everyone recognizes and I could not stop staring. We also went to Ground Zero which was literally a ten minute walk from Mikey’s aunt’s place. It was incredible seeing the fountains they have where the towers used to stand. The fountains were so massive and around the edges were all of the names of those who were lost inscribed in stone. I was glad we made time to go there. When I went there at ten years old, it was two months after it had happened and no one was allowed too close to it all, so I definitely wanted to go this time around. 

Aside from all of the crazy tourist stuff, we spent a lot of time eating delicious pizza and just kind of wandering around the city. There is so much to look at there, we could have been there a month and still not experienced it all. I feel like we outdid ourselves for the short time we were there. Just being there was enough, I fell in love with the buildings there. The architecture in that city and all of the brick is breathtaking! It was so amazing to be in such a beautiful city with the one I love. And having our own apartment definitely gave us a taste of what the future holds. I could not have asked for more on this trip! 

Here are just a few pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York, I miss you already!

xx

 

30 Day Challenge.

So I went to the website that had the 30 day challenge posts I was doing and it is no longer a site at all. I guess my 30 Day Challenge will remain a 10 day challenge. I may find another one interesting enough to attempt, but for now, I guess it’s all free writing!

Catalina!

Hey all! So, I think I have definitely been doing a bit better with the whole blogging thing lately. Today I randomly remembered something I wanted to post about awhile back. A few months ago, in September, Mikey and I celebrated our two year anniversary with a trip to Catalina! It was my first time going, which is pretty sad considering I live so extremely close, but better late than never, right? Anyways, I honestly had the time of my life, aside from getting sea sick on the boat ride over. 😦

When we did finally get there, I was still a bit nauseous so we went to grab a bite to eat in hopes of settling my stomach. After that we relaxed on the beach, played in the water, and collected rocks for hours. Afterwards we headed over to a mini golf course that Mikey remembered loving as a kid. I won, of course. 😉 We had originally planned on making it a day trip and returning the same night, but at the last minute we decided to stay. I won’t lie, I was definitely a little scared to get back on the boat so soon and it did take a lot of convincing to get Mikey to agree, but in the end we found a room at a cute little inn and stayed the night. We had a perfect night in with a jacuzzi sesh, pizza and beer! The next day, we got up early, had some amazing fish and chips and then went snorkeling! It was a blast! It was insane how close all the fish got to us! By the time we were done with that, there wasn’t much time before we had to head back home. I made sure to stop by a shop and buy some Dramamine so I didn’t have to worry about getting sick again. And I cannot thank those little pills enough! I slept through the whole trip back and felt fine. 

The trip was amazing. It is so incredibly beautiful there and so relaxing. I think it’s my favorite trip we have been on so far. There is no other way I would have rather celebrated the best two years of my life. ❤

 

 

 

 

Day 10.

Something you’re afraid of

The only things that come to mind would be heights, needles/blood and extremely old ladies. I feel like I might be claustrophobic too. The idea of being in a dark enclosed area makes me nervous.

Day 9.

A favorite picture of your best friend

Okay, so this one is a bit difficult because I consider more than one person my best friend.. so I’m just going to post some of my favorite pictures with my favorite people!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry I went a little overboard, guys. I was having too much fun going through old photos!

Wedding in Pittsburgh.

One exciting experience that I went through while I was MIA was getting invited to join my cousin’s bridal party. My cousin Tina and I have been close since we were little. I have a ton of cousin’s, but we are the closest two girls, age-wise. Although she lives in Pittsburgh, we have maintained a good relationship and see each other as often as we can. When I heard of her engagement I was ecstatic! And although I had never met her fiance before, I knew he had to be a pretty great dude. Shortly after her big news, I received a phone call inviting me to be a part of her big day. Of course I had to make it happen, no matter how much the flight cost.

Story short, I eventually got the money for my dress and, with some help from my dad and aunt, was able to afford my plane ticket. I traveled to Pittsburgh with my grandma and, let me tell you, it was quite the experience. My grandma is 82 years old, so no one thought it would be a good idea for her to travel alone. I love her to death so I didn’t mind going along with her. She’s a riot, so I was entertained the whole time. Once we made it to my aunt and uncle’s house, I actually met my cousin’s fiance, Travis, before I even saw her. Right off the bat, he was a super funny and friendly guy. He even carried my 1,000 pound suitcase for me. The following night, I was able to meet the rest of the bridal party and they were all honestly such sweethearts. Tina is definitely an awesome judge in character. I was able to somewhat bond with the girls in the short time I was with them. We had a girl’s day and night before the wedding and got completely pampered. We had our nails, hair and makeup done. I loved it.

Then the big day came. I thought after making it through rehearsal, I would be completely fine, but I definitely shed a few tears. Right before the ceremony, my uncle came in to see his little girl in her dress, and he, along with everyone in the room, completely lost it. It was so touching and I now know that my daddy will most definitely be the first one to make me cry on my big day. The ceremony was beautiful, but of course it was still a little silly. Knowing the bride and groom, it had to be. The reception was amazing! It was in downtown Pittsburgh in a great, older building. It was so beautiful. I absolutely love the architecture in that city.

After that, they headed off on their honeymoon and I was left with the adults the rest of the trip! Haha. It wasn’t so bad though. And I know my cousin had an amazing day and was headed off for an amazing trip to the Dominican Republic. I already miss her like crazy and it’s sad not knowing the next time I’ll see her. Maybe my wedding? And we all know that won’t be for awhile. Here are some pictures from my trip!

Day 8.

Once again, I haven’t posted in months. Sorry guys.. Good news though, I turned 21 while I was gone! Does that excuse my absence? 

A place you’ve traveled to and where else you would like to travel

I have traveled to Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Of all the places I have been to, New York is my absolute favorite. I would love to live there for a couple years one day just to try it out. I will actually be spending this New Years in New York City with my boyfriend and I couldn’t be more excited!! Somewhere I haven’t been, but would die to go, would be Australia. It has been at the top of my list for years and years, but who knows when I’ll be able to afford that trip. A girl can dream though..

 

Day 7.

Gosh, I am so awful at this.. It’s been nearly three months since my last post. I really have no excuse. I haven’t been crazy busy or anything and still spend a ton of time online. My apologies, guys.

What makes you happy

Hmm, this is difficult.. Not because I’m a miserable person, but because so much makes me happy! My closest friends make me happy. My boyfriend and family make me happy. Heck, a random stranger with kind words or a joke would make me happy. Things that inspire me make me the happiest I think because they give me hope. It gives me motivation to work towards something. It’s difficult to explain, but it could seriously be the smallest thing that sends my mind off running! I start thinking of the kind of person I want to be and where I want to live and what hobbies I want to pick up and I get really excited for life!