Here's To You Jenny and Ashael

London for me, as most of you know, was a study abroad... so although I got to travel around and act like a tourist and take in the cites I also had to STUDY! One of the classes I had was with Dr. Kerry Soper aka Ker Dog for Humanities 202. For the final project our class had to put together a parody or tribute to something we studied during the semester. For this assignment we could work in groups of 2 or 3 to get it done. Ker Dawg did not want us spending too much time or effort into but wanted us to have fun and reflect on what we studied. Of course being me I wanted to take this project to the next level! I wanted class members and faculty to remember the day Alex Fahey presented her Humanities 202 project. Now I could not do this alone so I needed the help of two of my roommates... originally it was Ashael and Elliot but after hearing my idea and how it could potentially take a little more time Elliot dropped out.Here is where Jenny comes in! While in Paris the first night Jenny, Ashael, and I came up with our 202 project... we decided to do a parody of 'Modern Times' a movie we watched in the class. This movie was made in 1936 and is a comedy with Charlie Chaplin. The whole film is about his 'little Tramp' character working to survive in the modern industrial world. It is a silent film and really quite funny... I really did not think I would like watching it but it really became one of my favorite things I studied! For those that have not seen it I would recommend that you do!

For our parody we took the idea of 'Modern Times' and made 'Centre Times'- our parody was life in the centre for Charlotte Chaplin. While riding the rails in Paris or the 'Metro' as they say in Paris- the three of us came up with the whole plot of 'Centre Times'. And from then on the fun just kept going. When we got back from Paris we finished our project... mind you we kept the whole idea pretty much under-wraps so everyone would be surprised. I am sure the rest of our roommates and the others in the centre thought we were a little strange but it was still fun! The day we took the pictures we all had to get into costume... which mine involved big hair and makeup... black tights, black dress, leather coat, and my chuck taylors! Funny enough the girls kept asking if I was going to Grease!

Anyway, for most of you the pictures below will not mean anything to you or make much sense but really this post is for those involved in 'Centre Times' Needless to say our project was one of the best and made everyone in the class break out in hysterics and even Kerr Dawg was to the point of tears. Now, our project took a little more effort but we really did enjoy ourselves!

*I will now put our video in a stream of pictures*

'Centre Times'
"Charlotte Chaplin is on the dreaded kitchen crew line!"

"Oh my so many dishes!"
"After kitchen crew Charlotte can't get the spinning motion out of her hands!"

"She is drawn to anything circular."

"AHHHHHHH"
"Get Off Me!""SLAP!""You won't get away with this!"

"There's a special place for girls like you"

Well it goes on and on... but here are a few more highlights for those that want to see a little more!

"Alone in Solitary Charlotte has made a home away from home." "Meanwhile, the search for food in the centre has gotten out of control!"

"No Nutella!"
"Charlotte is sad that she did not fit into centre life, but she has found a friend in 'the gamine'.

So for most of you this post seems a little strange and does not make much sense... but then again if you are not Jenny or Ashael this post was not for you! This was just to get these two girls a little memory of the good times we had making this production. Also, I want to say I have not forgotten and one way or another you will have a copy of this! I hope you enjoyed the memory... I wanted to put the whole story in... but it took a lot more effort than I thought and my internet was going slow slash not working... oddly enough just like the internet in the centre! HaHa!

Enjoy!

The Oscars and Brownie Popcorn Bags

This Sunday was of course the time of the Oscars and I could not have been more excited! I had been asking Matt and his family for the past couple of weeks if they were excited to watch them.... although they were not that excited they still put on a good face and pretended to be excited for me! For me the Oscars are the only award show that I allow myself to watch and get into. I think they are the most legit and really entertaining to watch.

For this award show I decieded to mix it up and try another one of Bakerella's recipes! This week Malia and I tried Brownie Popcorn Bags! This seemed a little easier than the Valentine's candy box... of course I blame Jenny for getting me hooked on this blog! Everything just looks so cute! And if I had the money and time I would try everything she puts up! Maybe in a couple of years I will have a full out Oscar party and make yummy treats and dress up!

Here are pictures of our efforts to create the popcorn bags!

This is what we were aiming for!This is the template Kevin Ho (Matt and Malia's dad) made for us since we did not have time to find the cookie cutter!The final product! I think they turned out really well! The red was a lot of brighter in person but my camera is stinky! But really I think they were great- although eating them was a bit of a sugar overload I think next time I will use a different frosting- one that tastes a little better!

I also really enjoyed watching the Oscars with The Ho's! Also, a shout out to Sandra Bullock! I really really love her! And I thought she did a great job in 'The Blind Side'! Also, congrats to all the other many many winners!

Patricia's Shower

A couple of weekends ago I was able to go to South Carolina for Patricia's (one of my best friends wedding shower). It was a lot of fun to be able to see her for the weekend and be part of her special celebration! For the shower I was in charge of favors and games! I was so excited to have some responsibility and be able to put my planning and organization skills to use! I chose to play 'Bridal Shower Family Feud', 'How Well Do You Know Patricia', and 'Wedding Shower Matching with Candy'. All the games were such fun and I think everyone had a blast.. there were even some heated arguments between the family members- It was great!

The Favors I made- they were little jars with pink M&M's and a pink ribbon tied around! I think they turned out very cute and matched with the pink and black theme of the shower. For anyone looking for cute favor ideas these were both easy and budget friendly!

The tables were set beautifully.

This is the cake Trisha's mom made for the shower. I think it was so adorable and really delicious.
The only picture Trisha and I have from the weekend! Of course we are doing the traditional Asian peace sign (which is very popular in Hawaii!)
It was also great to see Carmen again and meet her sister Elizabeth! After the shower we ended up at a tattoo studio so Brenda could get a tattoo! It was quite fun and a perfect way to end the night! I was so happy to see Trisha and I can't wait till April to go to the wedding!

Words Can't Describe

For those of you that were not aware I got a job a couple of weeks ago working at Subway. Now this is pretty funny seeing as while I was in London I would eat Subway at least a couple of times a week since I hated all the other food! So of course it's kinda perfect- although I might not ever eat Subway after being around the store for the next few months.

So far working there has been pretty easy... making sandwiches, doing prep, sweeping, etc... pretty easy! But things have changed... last Friday a little Caesars's Pizza has opened up right across the street... and my boss is freaking out about it! Everyday since the opening they have had a person dressed as the little Caesars man dancing around trying to draw people in! It has been pretty funny to watch and make fun of the poor person dressed as Little Caesar... I never thought that could happen to me!

Well today my boss had had enough and wanted to get someone out and promoting Subway! So that meant me or Tracy (the other girl I work with) had to go out in the sandwich suit! Of course I was a good sport and went out! And let me tell you when most bosses tell a woman to go stand on the corner and promote the business it's not usually a sandwich girl if you know what I mean! Haha! But now I can say I have stood on the street corner and gotten some business! :)

Of course I called my mom and told her right away what I was doing and where I was- where she promptly drove over with Joe in the car to take some pictures! It was classic they caught me dancing on the corner and pretty much making a big fool of myself! Which you know if you're going to do it do it right! While I was out there I got honked at, yelled out, and even got into a little dancing fight with the Little Caesar guy! It was not what I would say a fun couple of hours but it could have been worse!

After this I will never laugh at another fellow street dancer! Nor will I complain about my regular uniform of black pants, huge maroon polo, and a visor (which of course look great with my ears)!

Enjoy the pictures below!

A Little Over Due

Well I have been home from London for almost three months and I have yet to post on what home life as been like.

The first exciting thing really was Christmas of course. It was so great to be home with the family and it was even better because my Aunt Nickie and her family were here as well. Oh Christmas Eve our little family went bowling and then hung out with Abuela and Papa.Me and Joe at the bowling alley

Christmas Morning was spent with our little family opening gifts and then the rest of the day was spent with the cousins and Abuela and Papa and their house. It was great to be with everyone and have such a great holiday. Although being together was great Joe and I were really excited about getting Beatles rockband and Band Hero! So we spent a large portion of the day singing and rocking out!

After Christmas dinner cousins had to clean up dinner so of course I put on an apron!

Jessie and I singing Abba singstar

The day after Christmas we got together again and went out for Mexican. All the cousins enjoy being together so it was good to be together. Matt was also able to come out with us so that was good- since it's always great to be with him!

After Christmas Joe and I got to go to California to see our dad for a week. The highlights of that were spending time with our dad... although he did make us run almost everyday and ending our trip with us running a 5K! Although I did make it so it's all good! We also got to go Cross Country Skiing, and Carting! Here are a few pictures to show the fun we had that week!

Joe trying out his bike before his big ride (mind you he only lasted five minutes before he hit a curb and bent the fork on the bike! hehe this was so funny because before our trip he kept going on and on about how after he started riding we just call him Lance Armstrong!)Sasha and I on the beach on the CA coast! Playing in the Snow!Joe, Dad, and I getting ready to go Cross country skiing!

Joe and I looking a little afraid of getting in a cart!
Joe and Dad trying to get one working!Me in the riding suit!
After our 5K we went to Stanford and looked around- while there I practiced my statue posing skills- I think I am getting quite good!

Valentine's Cake

So a couple weeks ago a friend of mine from London (Jenny) sent me a link to look at this cake she felt I would love! Of course being a fan of yummy yummy cake I decided to check it out!

It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! It was a cake in the shape of a heart with truffles on top- the goal was to make it look like a candy box... so of course I took the challenge on and I recruited my long time cooking and baking partner of Malia Ho! :)

This is how the cake that the Bakerella made looked like:

And this is how ours looked like:
So of course not so cute when put next to the professional.. but I think we did a good job for our first time and our cake and cake truffles turned out very yummy! I think we just need to focus on cleaning up our look! But Malia and Matt worked very hard to roll the fondant out and I think did a pretty good job!

Here are some pictures of the progress:

I Am Going To The.... BULGARIA SOFIA MISSION!

On Friday, January 22 I ran out to the mailbox to check and see if my mission call had come yet. If you ask anyone in my family you will understand that I NEVER check the mailbox so this alone was a big deal. I had already had a disappointment of going to the mailbox Thursday afternoon and finding no mission call but I KNEW it was going to come sometime this week! So Friday at 4:00 I finally went to the mailbox and checked to see if it was here.... and IT WAS! I was so excited that I sprinted back into my house... of course I was the only one home so I dialed my mom and of course.. she did not answer so I called Chantal, my sister. I told her hurry come over I got my mission call and I can't open it alone! Soon after that phone call my brother Alex just happened to stop by the house so he was able to be there as well! Finally, mom picked up and she headed straight home (without picking up the kids)! The only person left that needed to be here was Abuela -so regardless of the fact she probably should not have been driving because of the medication she was taking- she headed over to see me open my call! So finally at 4:40 I was able to open it up with my mom, Abuela, Chantal, and Alex there and Barry, Aunt Sara and Uncle Beau, Papa, The Ho Family minus Matt and with Joe on speaker phone all listening in! I was so nervous and excited to open it up! And it read that I would be serving in the Bulgaria Sofia Mission and learning to speak Bulgarian and I report to the MTC in Provo on May 26, 2010!

I am so excited to be serving in this great country! It is such a unique place to be going and such an interesting language to be learning. I am not going to lie that I am a little nervous about trying to speak Bulgarian... for those of you that have heard me attempt to speak Spanish will find it funny that I have to learn Bulgarian!

So for those of you that don't know where Bulgaria is here is a map! Also, keep checking back for an update of what I learn about Bulgaria and the culture!
So far I have learned that Bulgarians shake their head from side to side for Yes and nod their head to say No.. so that is a little different.
Most Bulgarians are Christians- 83% Bulgarian Orthodox Church and 12% Muslim
Kak ste? = How are you
Zdraveite- Hello