Grandma's 90th Birthday!

This weekend I headed back home to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday. The last few months have been tough for her so I'm glad I was able to see her so happy on her birthday. We had a ton of Filipino food and a couple cakes to share. We were actually nervous about how many people would show up because it was snowing. But it turns out more people came than expected and my grandma was just thrilled to see everyone.

My grandma got so emotional when we were singing her happy birthday and all her great grandchildren surrounded her, singing along. It was then that I realized how old my grandma really is. I mean seeing the numbers 90 on her cake just made me realize how many years have passed. My grandma was the one who primarily raised me because both my parents had day time jobs. I remember how we would walk to the local grocery store and how every late afternoon she would step outside to water her garden. Now, she's a lot more fragile than she was 20 years ago. It's not really until I got to college did I realize how old everyone in my family is getting. But I'm glad I did so I can treasure these moments and make them meaningful.

20th Birthday!

On Monday, I turned 20 years old. So long teenage years, I'm now embarking on my twenties. It's kind of frightening actually. Because I act like I'm 14 and I look like I'm specifically 12 years old to the average person. But I'm actually 20.

You can say I am a scrooge when it comes to my own birthday. Especially after my Debut, my Filipino 18th birthday instead of the popular Sweet 16, I've grown a bitter resentment to my own birth date. Part of it is due to my minimized freedom and large dependency when I'm at home but another part of it is that I often compare myself to my peers. I have friends that have traveled to Italy for months, toured the west coast of the U.S., and have probably experienced a lot of experiences that I haven't even encountered. Basically, I feel like I have yet to live my life. But maybe that my path. It's just hard for me to accept since I feel like it's not entirely my fault. But every year I turn one year older and every year, I haven't done anything extraordinary that I had expected to do.

I traveled back to college for spring semester on my birthday. I was welcomed with greetings and a very nice surprise with cards, gifts, and a movie night out when I hadn't expected anything! I can't wait to go back home this weekend to celebrate my birthday with my family :)

Last few days of winter break

The last few days of winter break has been bittersweet as always. That itself is an understatement. I finally got a chance to catch up with Alex, after being stood up twice for yoga class which I will forever tease her for. But she knows it's all good. ;) We had our usual date at Panera where we always spend at least two hours just talking. She ended up showing me a local coffee place where I fell in love with their green tea chai lattes after having previous bad experiences with chai lattes.

Today, my family and I decided to celebrate my 20th birthday a little early since I have to get back to school for the semester tomorrow. We went to an all you can eat buffet which was just delicious. I always look forward to their green tea cake which is favorite! I kinda hate how it's a buffet because then I can never take any food to go.

Wolf of wall street

Yesterday, Mark and I went to Wolf of Wall Street and it was such an amazing movie. Although my attention span started to deteriorate after 2 hours, the entire movie was just riveting. I absolutely loved Leo DiCaprio and it was just done so beautifully and tastefully - just wonderful. Afterwards, we ate at our usual spot at California Pizza Kitchen. I had two rewards that we used which saved us a lot of money.

I have yet to still pack for school. But I can't wait to get back to the routine of the things. I just can't wait for the weather to get warmer and summer to arrive. I've already got my eyes on a few dresses from Free People that I can't justify buying the in the cold weather! 

Craving for fries

The last few days have been kind of slow. A lot of my friends are leaving for school for the spring semester and with a week of break still left for me, I'll only have packing to look forward to. I've been pretty good about not spending my money even though it is hard not to. Especially on really good sales that are just begging me to spend my money. But I took a good look at my closet and I was shaking my head at the fact that I've only been wearing my most recent clothing. Too much in my closet are trendy tops. I need a lot more classic pieces that I can keep in my closet for basically a lifetime.

I've been craving some good fries lately. Mark and I stopped by Smashburger to satisfy my craving. They were alright. I dislike how thin they were though.

The rest of my night will consist of me watching Blogilates and the Incredibles, drinking some tea and having some ramen to sooth my sore throat. I've recently been perusing the Free People website and love their spring line. So beautiful. They might very well be the sole reason why I break my new shopping resolution.

Time for others

I've been spending the past few days catching up and seeing old friends. I think everyone has a habit of waiting until the last two weeks of break to leave our houses to see anyone. But I'm glad that seeing everyone has been falling right into place quite easily. But the fact that break is already winding down is such a disappointment. I never want to go back to endless amount of work and daily schedules. I love just laying around and relaxing. If only I could do this every day!

The past few days have been terribly cold and today the heat in my house stopped working. Fortunately, it was only because the pilot light was out which seemed to be a quick fix. I keep taking electrical heating for granted especially on the coldest days of winter. The extreme cold has only been making me want summer more! This cold just makes me want to stay in bed and hibernate.

Stay warm! xx

Just say yes

Yesterday, I celebrated my uncle's birthday at Cheesecake Factory with my family. I decided to try out things on the menu I don't usually get. What I learned was that I hate the taste of cottage cheese. Afterwards, I did some shopping at the Victoria's Secret Semi Annual sale which I left with a pretty good haul.

Today I was stricken with body aches, a slight fever, and fatigue this morning after becoming sick in the middle of the past night. As a result, I was bed ridden for the majority of my day and missed out on a friend's birthday party. I've come to realize that I've been keeping to myself this break, mostly isolated. For the last two weeks of break, as short as that sounds, I need to get out and see people and do some fun things. I always get in these random funks where I never want to do anything to anyone and I say no to the simplest things. When saying yes couldn't have hurt.

Snow day in

First blog of 2014! A large snow storm decided to greet us here on the east coast and left us with a beautiful layer of snow. I'm just thankful I don't have work all this week so I won't have to tread through all the unplowed roads. For New Year's, I had my annual family New Year's gathering and it was great seeing everyone again. I'm always blessed with gifts and cards that I always appreciate and to think these people have been giving me gifts every year for nearly 20 years is kinda crazy. I don't think I've ever really done anything in return except thank them. 

 So, our tree has already been taken down in the living room and the holiday spirit has clearly left us. I can't wait for 2014. I'm going to turn 20, I'll be embarking huge steps in my future career, finding new independence, and hopefully growing all the while. It's a little bit terrifying and exciting all at once. But I'm sure it'll be fun either way.

I've also found a new appreciation for boxes of chocolates. I'm not sure why I've never really liked them before. It could be partly due to the fact that I'm not an extreme chocolate fan. But it also could be due to the fact that I've never really given them a try. Which could say a lot about the way I approach certain things...

The rest of the day will be consisting of catching up on my books and lounging. I just can't bear to think about going outside so that will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Stay warm!! xo