 |
 |
| Make a Smilebox slideshow |
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Harris Ranch
This past weekend I had the most wonderful, relaxing vacation! As a kid, my family and I would always travel with our family friends, the Beltrans. Lauren has been my best friend since I was a baby and we have been all over the state going on trips together. This past weekend we went to one of our favorite family vacations, Harris Ranch. It's so great because we do absolutely nothing! We go swimming, tanning, and of course- partake in a lot of delicious junk food! We had the best time and I'm so glad that Lauren and I are best friends.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Beach House
Every summer my grandma rents the beach house and it is one week of the summer that I always look forward to and that I always thoroughly enjoy. Although I wasn't able to stay the full week (I had my UCLA Orientation) I still had a great time while I was there. I got caught up on my Harry Potter reading- I finished the 6th book- and I'm onto the final one! Also, I spent some quality time with Evan just relaxing in the beautiful sun- we also flew the kite which was on my life goals list! (Unfortunately for Evan, it was a Barbie kite!) Lastly, I had my friends come out and we had a great time catching up and sharing stories during a campfire and smores. Life is wonderful when you have special people to enjoy it with!
 |
|
| Make a Smilebox slideshow |
UCLA Orientation
A week ago I went to my UCLA Orientation! It was quite a crazy experience; it was exciting, overwhelming, busy, and fun! When I arrived I checked into my dorm room and I met my counseling group based on the business economics major. One thing is for certain- I will no longer be majoring in business economics! (Way too much math, thank you very much!) We heard a lot of lectures on the first day. They welcomed us and informed us about how to work with professors, how to handle stress, and how to make safe, healthy choices at school. Later that day we went to a mini-college fair where we were introduced to various clubs and groups on campus.
On Monday we attempted to design schedules for ourselves. This was so difficult since there are hardly any classes left! At this point I'll be taking an Italian foods and literature class, a GE Cluster based on gender, and a Life Science ecology class. It may change though- I'm still trying to work out a few kinks. In the later hours (around midnight) we went on the Carpe Diem scavenger hunt where we looked all over the campus for clues and had to take pictures at each pit stop- we didn't arrive back until 2:00 am! It was still a great experience though and I'm so glad that I did it!
On Sunday we went on a campus wide tour and our guides told us legendary stories about the campus. They told us that out of all the stories- one of them would be a lie. They told us stories about moving an entire building, dead bodies, and Jimi Hendrix's locker filled with acid stamps. Well, I bought up each story with a silver spoon- it turns out that NONE of them were true! I was sooo disappointed- what a freshman! We also got "Bruintized" where we touched the famous fountain. Now I can't touch the fountain until I graduate or I will be cursed! Such stories...
I had such a great time and I met a lot of fun people. I can't believe that I can officially say I'm a Bruin now!
On Monday we attempted to design schedules for ourselves. This was so difficult since there are hardly any classes left! At this point I'll be taking an Italian foods and literature class, a GE Cluster based on gender, and a Life Science ecology class. It may change though- I'm still trying to work out a few kinks. In the later hours (around midnight) we went on the Carpe Diem scavenger hunt where we looked all over the campus for clues and had to take pictures at each pit stop- we didn't arrive back until 2:00 am! It was still a great experience though and I'm so glad that I did it!
On Sunday we went on a campus wide tour and our guides told us legendary stories about the campus. They told us that out of all the stories- one of them would be a lie. They told us stories about moving an entire building, dead bodies, and Jimi Hendrix's locker filled with acid stamps. Well, I bought up each story with a silver spoon- it turns out that NONE of them were true! I was sooo disappointed- what a freshman! We also got "Bruintized" where we touched the famous fountain. Now I can't touch the fountain until I graduate or I will be cursed! Such stories...
I had such a great time and I met a lot of fun people. I can't believe that I can officially say I'm a Bruin now!
 |
|
| Make a Smilebox slideshow |
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wilderness Welcome
I just got back from my amazing adventures with UCLA's Wilderness Welcome. I went on the trip because I wanted to push past my comfort zone and I definitely did that! I'm not used to the rugged wilderness and it was fun experiencing new adventures! I left Wednesday and I got back Sunday.
On Wednesday we had a fun bbq and then did some team building activities together. We had an amazing group- I loved everyone! I feel so lucky to be a Bruin and I'm so glad that I've already made such wonderful friends!
On Thursday we went on the UCLA outdoor ropes course and did the Leap of Faith. I climbed a 30 foot pole and then had to try to stand on top. I then had to jump out to the trapeze- which I unfortunately missed. This was a great team builder- we were all belaying each other so that we knew we could trust each other. We then went on a six hour drive to the Eastern Sierras in Inyo National Park where we were at 10,000 elevation. We went on a beautiful stroll through a meadow and we later to went to a natural hot spring- that was so exciting! There were about 20 Germans there- that was interesting. We slept under the stars in 30 degree weather- I was freezing! When I woke in the morning- there were icicles on my swimsuit!
On Friday we went on a six hour hike and we climbed to an elevation of 12,000 feet! I was so proud that we did it! It was so much fun eating our lunches out in the snow! We also did the 8-clap UCLA cheer and filmed it- what a great memory. As we climbed down we relaxed at a beautiful stream and we got our feet wet- so cold! We later had a campfire together with delicious smores! We had so many laughs that night and throughout the trip...
On Saturday we went kayaking and I got so frustrated! My partner Lucy and I ended up with a broken kayak if that's possible. But on the way back I was in a good kayak so that was a much more pleasant experience. We went back to the hot springs that night and saw the most gorgeous guy ever! (Hope Evan doesn't mind me saying that- but he was straight out of Calvin Klein!) It was pretty funny...
We had such a blast throughout the trip- I'll miss all the friends. I'm so glad that I went on the Wildness Welcome Trip!
On Wednesday we had a fun bbq and then did some team building activities together. We had an amazing group- I loved everyone! I feel so lucky to be a Bruin and I'm so glad that I've already made such wonderful friends!
On Thursday we went on the UCLA outdoor ropes course and did the Leap of Faith. I climbed a 30 foot pole and then had to try to stand on top. I then had to jump out to the trapeze- which I unfortunately missed. This was a great team builder- we were all belaying each other so that we knew we could trust each other. We then went on a six hour drive to the Eastern Sierras in Inyo National Park where we were at 10,000 elevation. We went on a beautiful stroll through a meadow and we later to went to a natural hot spring- that was so exciting! There were about 20 Germans there- that was interesting. We slept under the stars in 30 degree weather- I was freezing! When I woke in the morning- there were icicles on my swimsuit!
On Friday we went on a six hour hike and we climbed to an elevation of 12,000 feet! I was so proud that we did it! It was so much fun eating our lunches out in the snow! We also did the 8-clap UCLA cheer and filmed it- what a great memory. As we climbed down we relaxed at a beautiful stream and we got our feet wet- so cold! We later had a campfire together with delicious smores! We had so many laughs that night and throughout the trip...
On Saturday we went kayaking and I got so frustrated! My partner Lucy and I ended up with a broken kayak if that's possible. But on the way back I was in a good kayak so that was a much more pleasant experience. We went back to the hot springs that night and saw the most gorgeous guy ever! (Hope Evan doesn't mind me saying that- but he was straight out of Calvin Klein!) It was pretty funny...
We had such a blast throughout the trip- I'll miss all the friends. I'm so glad that I went on the Wildness Welcome Trip!
 |
|
| Make a Smilebox slideshow |
Hannah's Horse Show
On 4th of July my friend Alexis and I went to Santa Barbara to see our friend, Hannah, compete in her horse show. It was so exciting to watch the various competitions- I had never been to a horse show before. It was also great getting to finally meet the much talked of champion horse- Towncat. I even got to feed him a peppermint! Hannah did a great job and I especially loved her swarovski pink tie!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Life Goals
I have been working diligently this summer on achieving some of the life goals that I've set out for myself. I've found that life is much more fulfilling if you are working toward something and I've discovered that I love the feeling of setting a goal for myself and then actually accomplishing it. As I mentioned earlier, I've written 355 goals so far but here's the ones that I've accomplished.
#1: Sing in the high school talent show. This was amazing! With this goal, the results are more than I expect. I used to sing and perform all the time and then I got a bit of stage fright. Yet I decided that before I graduated from high school, I wanted to sing in our outdoor concert called "Air Guitar". I sang "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston and to my shock and amazement, my performance went pretty well! I actually won 3rd place which was such a pleasant surprise!
#37: Plant, eat, and grow a garden. Look below on my blog for more details on that one!
#200: Pass all 3 of my AP tests! This is my most recently accomplished goal- as of yesterday in fact! You see, I was terribly frightened to take AP Calculus AB this past year- in fact, I took statistics at the college to try and weasel out of it! However, my counselor said that if I wanted to get in UCLA, I would definitely need to take it. With the help of my tutor and studying under an excellent calculus teacher, not only did I get an A both semesters- I got a 4 on the exam! I was shocked! I thought I might not pass (which is a score of 2) and I thought I'd be lucky to scrape by with a 3 (which is just passing). I'm ecstatic! I also got 5s (the highest score) on my AP English and AP Government exams. Woo-hoo!
#201: Graduate #4th in my class. I did it! Might not be valedictorian- but 4th in 220is good enough for me!
#206: Win Girl of the Year. If you go to Senior Awards Night blog post you can read about it there.
#220: Vote in an election. This is huge privilege for me and I will never take this freedom for granted, no matter how small or insignificant the measures may be. I voted in California's special election and it was such a great feeling to actively participate as a citizen of this amazing country!
Goals I'm Working On This Month:
#2: Raising and hatching a chick. This has been a difficult goal for me to accomplish. I've already tried once and unfortunately, none of them hatched. I cracked them open and two were just egg yokes but one was a fully developed chicken! I couldn't believe it! Yet, with that miscarriage behind me, I've already started a second batch! My dad has decided that if they hatch, and if one is hen, we will keep her and name her Heidi! I'll let you know on my progress!
#49: Watch Top 100 AFI Movies. I've watched about 20 so far, so I've got a long way to go. I just watched "Saving Private Ryan" and that was quite a movie. Now, Citizen Kane here I come!
#71: Read entire Harry Potter series. I just finished the 5th Installment: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
#123: Read the Success Principles by Jack Canfield. I read a little bit of this book every day and it has been the driving force behind my goal setting and positive growth. It's an excellent read!
#173: Watch surgery performed. I'm trying to get my mom to help me out on this one!
#205: Get CPR Certification. I've already completed the course- I'm just waiting for my card to make it official!
That's all for now folks!
#1: Sing in the high school talent show. This was amazing! With this goal, the results are more than I expect. I used to sing and perform all the time and then I got a bit of stage fright. Yet I decided that before I graduated from high school, I wanted to sing in our outdoor concert called "Air Guitar". I sang "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston and to my shock and amazement, my performance went pretty well! I actually won 3rd place which was such a pleasant surprise!
#37: Plant, eat, and grow a garden. Look below on my blog for more details on that one!
#200: Pass all 3 of my AP tests! This is my most recently accomplished goal- as of yesterday in fact! You see, I was terribly frightened to take AP Calculus AB this past year- in fact, I took statistics at the college to try and weasel out of it! However, my counselor said that if I wanted to get in UCLA, I would definitely need to take it. With the help of my tutor and studying under an excellent calculus teacher, not only did I get an A both semesters- I got a 4 on the exam! I was shocked! I thought I might not pass (which is a score of 2) and I thought I'd be lucky to scrape by with a 3 (which is just passing). I'm ecstatic! I also got 5s (the highest score) on my AP English and AP Government exams. Woo-hoo!
#201: Graduate #4th in my class. I did it! Might not be valedictorian- but 4th in 220is good enough for me!
#206: Win Girl of the Year. If you go to Senior Awards Night blog post you can read about it there.
#220: Vote in an election. This is huge privilege for me and I will never take this freedom for granted, no matter how small or insignificant the measures may be. I voted in California's special election and it was such a great feeling to actively participate as a citizen of this amazing country!
Goals I'm Working On This Month:
#2: Raising and hatching a chick. This has been a difficult goal for me to accomplish. I've already tried once and unfortunately, none of them hatched. I cracked them open and two were just egg yokes but one was a fully developed chicken! I couldn't believe it! Yet, with that miscarriage behind me, I've already started a second batch! My dad has decided that if they hatch, and if one is hen, we will keep her and name her Heidi! I'll let you know on my progress!
#49: Watch Top 100 AFI Movies. I've watched about 20 so far, so I've got a long way to go. I just watched "Saving Private Ryan" and that was quite a movie. Now, Citizen Kane here I come!
#71: Read entire Harry Potter series. I just finished the 5th Installment: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
#123: Read the Success Principles by Jack Canfield. I read a little bit of this book every day and it has been the driving force behind my goal setting and positive growth. It's an excellent read!
#173: Watch surgery performed. I'm trying to get my mom to help me out on this one!
#205: Get CPR Certification. I've already completed the course- I'm just waiting for my card to make it official!
That's all for now folks!
Lexi's 2nd Birthday
Last week was my sweet cousin Lexi's 2nd birthday! It was a monkey theme and her mom, Tori, decorated the party in such a cute way. It was great getting to see Lexi play amongst her friends and I enjoyed talking to various family members and friends. Happy Birthday Lexi!
 |
|
| Make a Smilebox slideshow |
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Price is Right!
On Wednesday Evan and I went to see the Price is Right! It was quite an adventure I must say- I was surprised by how many enthusiastic fans there are. Evan and I arrived at 8:00 in the morning and we were too late for the first show so we had to wait until the 4:00 show. In the meantime we had a great time exploring the Grove in Hollywood. We checked out the Farmer's Market and had strawberry waffles and fresh churned peanut butter- absolutely delicious! We also had fun shopping- however, we did NOT have fun waiting for the show to start. We waited for four hours! From noon to four! When we finally got in the studio it was so small and we were disappointed to not get picked. It's quite a process- the producer interviews you and you get your picture taken; yet their choices seemed pretty random to me. Nevertheless, it was exciting to see and we had a great time. Be sure to look out for us on the airing on October 6th! We also had a great time at the Cheesecake Factory where I splurged on a slice of Carrot Cake Cheesecake- I must say though- the Snickers Cheesecake is still my favorite!
#37: Summer Garden
This past year I have continuously set life goals for myself- I'm up to 355 goals so far! One of my goals was to plant, grow, and eat from a garden. And I'm excited to say that I have recently done just that! It has been the perfect bonding experience for my dad and I and we have spent time every day nurturing our garden. I planted Hungarian wax peppers, another kind of pepper (not sure of the name), flowers, corn, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, and tomatoes. Our garden is growing like crazy- especially the tomatoes- and it's so much fun to check on the progress every day. Unfortunately our most recent problem is a little bunny that has a liking for the broccoli leaves. Knowing my dad, the little creature probably won't be around for long now! Anyway, the zucchini was my first successful "crop" and I decided to make zucchini bread to complete my goal. That was such an exciting first bite! It was also great making loaves for my family and friends; they all thought it was such a neat gift. I can't wait to continue with the garden!
 |
|
| Make a Smilebox slideshow |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
