new car!

okay okay! i am technically a month late but...
surprise! i got a new car!

it's a 2013 mazda cx-5! see ^^^^

i love it, it's so me! :]
her name is black sable!
it's brand new, i bought it with 90 miles on it.
chris and i went and got it on 29 november 2012.
i really wanted a pearly white one
but mazda didn't have any left,
so i got the next color option.

it really doesn't matter because i love it!
i would take pictures of the interior and back
but since it's been snowy, the carpet and whatnot is dirty!

there will be more in the future!

vacation and celebration!

wow! i really have been slacking off lately!
no worries, my lovely blog followers i have plenty of news for you!

first off, chris and i went our second cruise
on 09 november 2012.

we were gone for a week and a half
with stops in washington d.c. for one day,
we saw everything from the white house
to the vietnam war memorial!
[i can't believe we saw the lincoln memorial :) ahh]
i loved how chris was acting like a little boy in a toy store!

the next day we drove to baltimore, md.
yes we drove.
that's where we embarked onto our cruise ship.
we stayed at the inner harbor and we loved it!
we went shopping, to the
ripley's believe it or not museum,
to a science center, and saw a live magician show.

here's a picture of the harbor:

and finally we made it to our cruise ship!
this is one of the top decks:

we cruised to port canaveral, fl and went to cocoa beach.
here's a picture of chris and i at cocoa beach:

then went to nassau and freeport, bahamas.
this is port lucaya beach:

we met some amazing people again
just like the first time! dan and corinne,
jamie and brian, and glen and brianna...
oh i can't forget rossana! she was our waitress and she was a doll!

oh yes i saved the best for last!
chris proposed to me on the cruise!
[not on this beach here, on the ship!] :P
it was so cute he was so nervous and flustered :)

here's a picture of one of the engagement pictures we took in port lucaya

denver trip for my birthday

hello hello!
i'm finally writing that blog about my trip to denver!
i promise i'll be more active about writing in here.
i really mean it! :)

even though this is a little over a month late...
so anyway...
on my birthday, chris surprised me with a trip to denver.
it was from the end of august to early september.

we visited our friend, alex, who lives there and is chris' former roommate, we shopped a lot! yippee, denver has amazing shopping!

and ate that delicious food that only denver can make me crave! (one place was a korean bbq place, yummy!)

we didn't take too many pictures because i wanted to go there and just chill. actually be ON vacation and not worry about posting pictures and all that. i just wanted to be.

can't wait to go again sometime! i love denver!

lifehouse concert [25 august 2012] - rockfest

chris and i went to see lifehouse
on 25 august 2012.

it was very unplanned and sporadic
because we heard about it at the last minute.
but we love lifehouse so we had to be there!

it was in tama, iowa... about an hour from where i'm at,
at meskwaki casino for rockfest.
it was an outdoors concert and it was drizzling rain.
it was pretty cool still, although i was pretty cold!
[and i needed to pee badly] ;}

there were other bands there:
hurt, puddle of mudd, and fuel in which
they were all good but life house was awesome live!

i would really have loved to see them at
a real concert though because it would feel a lot more real.
and a bit more professional than the set up at the casino.
and i would've gotten a t-shirt!

but it was fun because chris and i experienced
another new thing together!

here's another video chris took of
lifehouse singing 'hanging by a moment'
for your viewing pleasure!



visit chris' blog @amazingscooterman.blogspot.com
or his youtube channel @youtube.com/amazingscooterman

update 1.0 - rascal flatts concert - iowa state fair

hi everyone! i'm so sorry
about being gone for so long!
i've been very busy this last month until now!
i have concerts, and a trip to denver
for my birthday to blog about. stay tuned!

let's start from the beginning...
from august 9th - august 19th was the
iowa state fair.

i was very pleased to hear that
rascal flatts
was going to be there for a concert!
chris and i bought tickets to go
see them on 19 august 2012.

it was a great show
and the weather outside was perfect!
[it was an outside concert].
eli young band and little big town were
the opening act
they weren't too bad either!

the only upsetting thing about the concert was
boyziimen were there at the same time
and the same day giving a free concert!
talk about bad timing!

here's a video chris took of
rascal flatts singing, come wake me up.

rewritten - photo a day #11

i've always wanted to be remembered in someway
either in life and in death.
it could be by my crazy personality,
or maybe because the crafty things i make,
or even because i've created amazing friendships with people.
nothing like that would ever happen to me.
i'm a nobody who wants to be somebody, but i can't even
make an effort to do anything about it.
it's always fear. fear. fear. fear.
i always blame fear and let it hold me down.
i've changed and became better through the years and it seems like it's not enough.
i don't want to be forgotten.
that's why i'm rewriting myself. renewing.

365 photos - photo a day #10

i got my nails done for my nephew's birthday
party this weekend, it's so cute they match my dress!

here's the picture:

it's kind of weird because yet again
my taste in things have changed!
im really crazy about nails and accessories right now!

and nautical colors and themes!

chicago trip 2012

chris and i went on another road trip to chicago.
{it's the 3rd trip this year}!

we stayed at the drake hotel.
chris and i liked it, it was close to shopping so we walked.
{i contained myself well, there was a louis vuitton and gucci right outside my hotel}!
it was really fancy too!

the first night there we went to
michael jackson cirque du soleil.
we had really good seats and we were vip's so we got free gifts!
cirque du soleil also doesn't allow pictures,
but we managed to get one after the show.

and here are our vip lanyards:

the next day we went shopping... a lot of shopping...
{i think i spent way more than i wanted to hehehe}
i couldn't help it though all my favorite stores are pretty much there!
here's one of them:

we were so tired from walking everywhere and it was pretty hot
considering it's the windy city!
i still can't get over not packing shorts!

later on, on saturday, we went to an autographing of the chicago bears,
devin hester #23.

then we said goodbye to chicago until next time.
i couldn't wait to get home to see my pupster!
i'll be back chicago! {maybe sometime next year, since this was the 3rd trip}!

365 photos - photo a day #9

you know the saying that you room is your santuary.
well the saying can't get any
more accurate for me.
i love my bedroom and always
want to spend my time in there.

it's not exactly designed the way
that i want it but i love it anyway!
it's a little bit messy right now, it matches my mood. :P

365 photos - photo a day #8

hi everyone!
i've been naughty and i haven't updated! :[
no worries! i'm here now!

this weekend i'll be in chicago.
chris and i pretty much call it a home away from home,
we've been there so much!

we have a ton of things planned!
we're going shopping, to the willis tower,
a devin hester signing, a walk in the park
and tons of other stuff.
i painted my nails the chicago bears colors for the event!

here it is:

more pictures of the trip for your viewing pleasure
are coming soon! be patient!

365 photos - photo a day #7

those of you who don't know...
i collect the little mini dogs that
victoria's secret brings out every few months.
{no worries, i'm gonna blog all about it soon!}

today they came out with new ones:

i'm a little upset because i dislike the words on the side
and the print is so boring!
what happened to all the fun ones!
oh well, it's for my collection so i don't care. :P

365 photos - photo a day #6

chris' parents went on their trip to wyoming
for their anniversary and chris' dad's birthday.
they brought us back some souvenirs!
chris got two shot glasses, he collects them.
and we both got chill straws, they're supposed to keep your drink cold!

i got a small fish bead, it's so cute!
and i also got this bracelet...

i think it was supposed to be a bracelet
but i wanted an anklet for a while now...
so i just tied it to my ankle! i love it!
and the colors are so cute too!

365 photos - photo a day #5

we went to ohana's steakhouse to eat today.
it's a hibachi/teppanyaki place that's pretty delicious.
we always request the same cook, his name is ray.
he's really funny and knows my sister really well.

here's a picture of my food (that i already ate most of):

i got japanese clear soup, italian cream salad,
sesame chicken, fried noodles, and shrimp!
you get a lot of food for your money.
gets you full.
happy belly!

365 photos - photo a day #4

here's the picture of the day, today:

this time it's me and my puppy, charlee.
i just got off work and decided to lay down.
you know because i work very hard! lol!
well when i laid down, charlee decided to join me!

365 photos - photo a day #3

here's a picture of my nephew!
i love my little pumpernickel!
he'll be exactly one in a month!

he's a little bit too smart for his own good!
he can almost walk, he babbles a lot, and he's very independent.
i love you, che che!

365 photos - photo a day #2

these are my two little babies!
chris and charlee!
they were messing around and playing right before i took this picture.

aren't they so adorable! i think... yes!
visit chris at
http://amazingscooterman.blogspot.com

365 photos - photo a day #1

today i've decided to start a photo a day for a year!
i know that usually it's specific items
but this one is my own take,
a little visual diary, if you will.

here's one to start my photo a day:

chris and i went to grey's lake and ran a lap.
as you can see we're both pretty sweaty...
a lap is around 1.9 miles around.
{we can do around 3 laps,
but today we went too late in the day}.
cheers to getting fit this summer!

product review: ciate caviar manicure

everyone knows that i love bling...
so when i saw this manicure set at sephora
to bling your nails, you know i had to get it!

the set cost $25.00 and includes
micro pearls, strawberry milkshake pink nail polish
and a funnel for the micro pearls.

here are the results:












i loved the idea of these nails
but they were kind of difficult to apply
and they fall off a little. maybe if they made a tray
for dipping your nails into them, in my picture i
cut a small plastic shot glass size cup.

overall it's really fun, really pretty, and worth a try!

half of my heart

lately, i've only been putting half of myself into everything.
work, relationship, my own happiness, life.

i don't mean half-assed, half-assed is laziness and that's
the one thing i'm trying not to be anymore.
what i mean is... i want to put all of my heart into something
but i find that i'm not 100%, i'm only 50% involved.

i've always had really big dreams and i guess i still haven't
gotten to my goals and dreams... so my faith in myself is fading.
i don't want to give up but i just can't find it in me to fight anymore.
i've given my all before. i just wasted so much of my time.
i'm getting older, i guess i don't want to waste any more potential.
but why hold on to it and really waste it.

i think it's also the fact that i have almost nothing that i'm good at,
i don't really have a lot of friends, my boyfriend gets sick of me, etc.
so that's half of my personality that's unsatisfactory.
there are so many things that i'm striving for but only 50% of me is invested.
and the other 50% says to stay where i'm comfortable...

when will i win this battle with myself?

counting

i've been struggling with weight loss
in the last few months.
i work out about 3-4 times a week,
i guess i eat whatever i want though
and dieting is a big part of weight loss.
just two years ago i could've eaten anything and lost weight,
and now i'm stuck at the same weight...

i now count my calories with an app on my iphone called myfitnesspal, and it's FREE!
i like it a lot, it logs how many calories you eat
for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks
and you can add in your workouts and it'll subtract the calories that you burn from it.

i entered in my weight loss goal and it says if i continue the program,
i can lose 3 pounds in five weeks [that's not including working out]
sounds pretty good to me... but it's hard because staying within the calorie limit
and not being hungry anymore is a killer... i have to train my body to stay full.
it's worth a try and if i don't see any significant results,
i can always try other things.
i won't back down from this fight.

'you only live once'

this has been chris and i's motto for 2012.
we figure we aren't getting any younger
so we should live it up,
before we get married and start a family.

so far we've developed a monthly activity,
in january, we went to a lady antebellum concert, my first concert at that!
february, we went to see a play, west side story.
march, we road tripped it to chicago for a bulls games and shopping!
april, we were thinking minnesota, but that's still up in the air...

i feel upon doing these activities
and planning things together have
strengthened our bond with each other.
[let's hope he feels the same, lol]
so in actuality it's a win-win situation. :]
it's kind of been daring, inviting and adventurous.
chris and i love adventure!

i always anticipate what we'll do next.
you only live once. embrace it. :D

project bling #15

here's another bling project that
after so many hours... i finally finished!
(officially finished, 17 march 2012)

this idea came to me because chris is a huge bulls fan,
we're going to a bulls game in
chicago on 24 march 2012,
and i'm also trying to bling anything
and everything i can!
so if you have more ideas... shoot me a message!

i spent 50+ hours on this jersey.
only the front is done,
i believe that i will finish the back of it someday.
keyword is someday :]

here are some photos:

as you can see, this wasn't your average project bling!
instead of rhinestones and glue...
i used string and sequins.
i was really surprised with the outcome
because i've never sewn in my life!
i just youtubed 'how to sew on sequins' and got my answer there!

stay tuned for more project bling's
and check out some of the older projects!

don't forget to also stay tuned for pictures
of me in the jersey at the bulls game, too!

update

hey, everyone!
sorry i haven't been around almost all february,
i've been so busy working on projects,
finishing errands and planning things with chris.

i'll be updating again a lot more
in the next coming weeks.
i'm just trying to catch up with my life right now.
it seems to keep rolling faster than i can keep up with!
i have a small road trip and a project bling to update about.
how exciting, right?
see you guys then! :]

failure

here i am again telling myself to try.
try to be better, to find something better
to lose weight, to be happier... i don't know what i was thinking.
i want to be successful, thinner, happier.
and yet i can't even dig deep
into myself and find the motivation.
at first it was pretty easy.
now i can't seem to juggle my hobbies with working out and being with my boyfriend
in one day considering there's 5 1/2 hours for me to do it in.

i'm a failure at a lot of things at this point.
it's pretty upsetting actually.
i want to be a better person, i'm actually worse now.
i want to be thinner, i quit insanity today.
i want to be happier, but i can't find it in myself to change it.
this is the year of the dragon. my year.
funny thing is- with my luck this will be a bad year.
i can only hope for the best. keep in touch.

insanity pt. 02

today is the marker, one month ago i started insanity.
actually i'm behind a couple of days...
a week and a half because i was too tired and all.
the first time i did this program i lost a lot of weight...
and to tell you the truth i kind of half-assed this session.
oh well, i still have time to be better. i'm only human.
my other results are from 04 december 2011.
listed as 'insanity'.
here are the results as of 07 january 2012:

height - 4'11"
weight = 119lbs

bust = 34
mid-section = 33
hips/butt = 37

i lost 1/2 an inch on my waist and i lost 1 pound overall.
i will definitely try harder in the next couple days!

hopefully my next and final results aren't too bad.
maybe i'll actually diet a little bit...
it's never been so hard to lose weight for me.
i mean i'm working out almost everyday.
i guess i'm not getting any younger... this metabolism sucks! lol.

a new year

excuse the photo, it was taken on our iphone in the dark.
and excuse the hair because after all, we were in the windy city! :)

hello lovelies! happy 2012!

this year started off perfectly.
chris and i went to chicago
for new year's eve.
it was the first time in 3 years that we celebrated it together!
we did tons and tons of shopping... my fav! ;)
and we went to see fireworks at the navy pier at midnight.
it was really fun, but it was sooooo cold!
oh and i got my kiss, too!

it was just a mini vacation for us,
but i think i needed it.
just to be away for awhile was relaxing.
(minus the traffic!)
i hope that having this good start to the new year brings lots of good karma...
i'm ready to face my challenges and reach my goals.
sure i might fail, but everyday is another chance, another day, another week, another month and another year.
i can't say i didn't go down without a fight.

"chicago was wonderful. strolling around downtown with your hand in mine and a little bit of snowflakes drifting. i think i fell in love all over again. ♥" -- my facebook status at 9:32pm, on 01 january 2012