Chinese food, puppies, and lots of dancing.

Prepare yourself, friends. This could be a very long post. Without a doubt, it will be. 

Weekends are always a good time. I live my life weekend to weekend (sad, I know. What's even more sad is that my weekend goes Thursday-Sunday).

There's usually a lot of laying around in no makeup and sweatpants, eating at lots of different places, and some sort of random nonsense with my family. This weekend was exceptionally good, because it involved girlyfriends and dancing as well. It was an epic few days, indeed. So let us begin:

Friday:

I bought a kimono (you will see it in every picture of me below because I wore it every day this weekend. Judge me, I don't care).

We also went to Spaghetti Factory to celebrate a very special 5-year old.

 Iced tea was spilled all over my mother. Can't take that woman anywhere! 

Saturday:

After church, Mother, Sister, Sister's boyfriend, and I went to P.F. Changs. It was unreal how delicious it was. I am not a chinese food fan, but that place just gets me.
Afterwards, mother and I went to Cupcakes Squared...basically the best invention since regular shaped cupcakes. They're delicious, and they're square instead of round (If you didn't know, anything mini-sized or out of the ordinary when it comes to food is deeply desired by me). 

Sister and Sister's boyfriend went kayaking. They sent us this picture where they were dressed like Shamu's trainers. Seriously?! Too cute. 

Mother and I returned home in the afternoon and I was laying on my bed relaxing when all of a sudden, I heard Lola going nuts. Her tail was wagging incessantly and she was crying/barking at the window. So I went to the room where she was panicking and looked out the window, only to see our Mailwoman (is that the correct term for a lady Mailman?) being followed by two puppies. I got more excited than Lola at this moment. I walked outside and asked the Mail lady if they were her dogs (who knows, maybe she brought them for company on her route?) and she said that they had just been following her for the last 15 houses. So, being the dog obsessed human I am, I called to the puppies and they ran right into my arms. We had a little love sesh there on the sidewalk, and then I took them into my house, where Lola continued to go hog wild. She was so ecstatic to have friends in her house. 

They both had collars on, so I knew I couldn't pretend that they were strays and just keep them forever. I tried to justify it in my mind, but the little angel on my right shoulder said I had to call their owner. So I called their phone number...no answer. Finally after about 4 calls, their horrible owner answers the phone (yes, I could tell this man was going to be horrible from the moment he answered the phone). 

Him: (sleepily) uh hello

Me: Hi, I think I live down the street from you, I have your pups here in my backyard. They were running down the street. (I gave him my address at this point).

Him: ughhhhhh. uh, okay, I guess I will walk down and get them then.  

(Like I was doing him some disservice by taking in his doggies)

Fast forward like ten minutes. 

Homeboy comes rollin up to my house in his SUV with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth with no shoes on. Oh gosh. My mom and I tell him how sweet his dogs are. He says "Ugh I wish you would keep them" as he takes the black one from my arms and TOSSES HIM IN THE CAR. Not like a sweet little push, he full on threw him into the back. I could have decked the guy right there. I was annoyed the rest of the afternoon. 

I saw where his house is and let's just say I give him a little salute and say bad words through my window every time I drive by his house.  

Thankfully, I had a fun night ahead to make my mind off of my meeting with Satan earlier. My two roomies, plus our friend Chynna, my best friend Lauren and her friend Edith all came to Temecula and we met up to go dancing at our favorite little spot! Lauren and I had come here before and had so much fun. It's a tiny little dance floor at the top of Pechanga Indian Casino...but it is a hidden gem. They play such good music...so much that I am suffering from intense knee pain now. Three hours of dancing is no joke. #stillworthit

go lolo! go lolo!

Sunday:

Our church Fall Festival. 

We went to the most non-Adventist church social of all time. Meat? Halloween Costumes? DANCING? What sort of a religious establishment are we running here!?

A fantastic one.

There was a photo booth:

And we all crammed into it:

I also took precious pictures of Jonisan on a bale (bail? bayle?) of hay:

ah! that laugh!

Then there was square dancing. I wish I had video of it. All four of us and my parents hoe-downed like we were a buncha hicks. Except I was in a kimono and my father was in running shoes. 

The weekend ended with Molly, Filipe, and I having to drive back to school. Boo. But only two more days and the weekend (for me) starts again!

xo

Disneyland Fail.

Yesterday, Jonisan had the day off so we were brainstorming what sort of wild adventure to go on. We love days like that when we both have NOTHING going on because our possibilities are literally endless. Jonisan decided he really wanted to go to Disneyland because our passes are expiring soon and he hasn't been able to go as many times as I have. So at 6:30 a.m., he woke my sleeping beauty self up. Totally joking. I look like this when I am woken up, no lies.

By 7:15, we hit the road looking like a couple of workout instructors because basketball shorts and yoga leggings were as fancy as it was gonna get at that time of morning. Disneyland opened at 9, so we were super stoked to arrive there right when it opened and beat all the lines. We were going to be front of the line in Cars Land. We would go on every ride we wanted to and be over it by noon because we would have already ridden everything. It's Thursday, it'll be empty.

 We had big dreams. All of which didn't come true. 

We waited in a huge line just to get through the turnstyles. Then, realizing it was going to be a bit more crowded than we anticipated, I chose to haul over to the Cars fastpasses so that we could avoid waiting in line and be able to ride together, since we always go single rider and are split up. 

I got to where the fastpass distribution was, and the line curved allllllll overrrrr the park. I'm not kidding. All through the Carthay Circle area of CA Adventure, through a bunch of switchbacks, and then all the way through Hollywoodland. I looked like this.

Jonisan was in the bathroom, and I started to feel terrible because the poor boy just wanted a relaxing day at Disneyland. I soon realized I was going to have to break the news to the sweet man that without knowing, we picked what seemed to be THE MOST CROWDED DAY EVER at Disneyland. Thankfully, we have passes, so we can leave after a few hours and it doesn't really affect us, but the poor Jonjon boy took off work so that he could have a somewhat empty Disneyland day and he got the exact opposite. 

poor baby jonjon

The little pup looked so sad as we waited in the single rider line for the Cars ride. Even that was about 30 minutes long. And you don't even get to ride together. 

Usually. (now is when I would enter that emoji that looks all sly and pleased with himself). 

I think the Disney overlords felt bad for us, because we ended up getting in the same car, even though we were single riders. 

We did a couple more rides in CA adventure, and then we decided to attempt Disneyland because Indiana Jones has changed a little bit and I wanted Jonjon to see it. We got to Indiana and the line was almost back to Tarzan's Treehouse. Just a mob of people all through Adventureland. Once again, we chose to go single rider. And I don't want to go to Disney jail in case Mickey Mouse reads my blog, so lets just say we found a way to be in the same car once again. (Karma will get back to us I am sure. We have accepted it). 

The lines were just miserable, so we decided to head back to the car at noon, but not before getting one of these little beauties. Our day definitely improved at this moment. 

The most perfect Dole Whip. 

Then Jonisan spoke the most beautiful of words:

"How far is Pasadena from here?"

To most people, these words wouldn't do anything for them. But me, well, I looked like this: 

Because in Pasadena, this exists:

Gilly hicks is the most wonderful store in the world for undergarments, pjs, and workout clothes. And the closest one is in Arcadia (they just opened this one, we used to have to go to Pasadena for it). And my wonderful little honey-boo-boo gave up time in his day off to take me here. Love this guy, I tell you. He's fantastic. He sat outside patiently while I shopped.

gotta feed his pterodactyls!

We also incorporated some "chubby swag" into our day (Our lingo for when we eat ridiculously unhealthy and indulgent things but we don't let ourselves feel bad about it, we just rock it).

This was our chubby swag of choice:

It's called a "Paris Brest" (yes we giggled because we are 12 year old boys at heart) and its filled with ice cold vanilla bean custard. Don't mind if we do.

We then drove about a zillion different freeways to get back to San Diego County, but not before trying a mexican restaurant in Old Town Temecula called The Bank. Nomnomnom. 

Although the Disneyland part failed, we still had a ton of fun doing something out of the ordinary. I love this guy and the adventures we end up taking without even planning them. 

xo

Does this make me a poser?

I used to listen to a lot of country music when I was in my teenage years, oh so long ago (taste the sarcasm). Most of my iPod nano consisted of Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift.

Not the twang-iest of country, but I still thought myself to be a bit of a country fan. 

Then I betrayed country and completely dropped it out of my life. I couldn't really tell you why, I just lost interest and was almost disgusted by it.

But then I started dating this asian cowboy. 

Don't let the Ray-bans fool you. This guy is a country boy. He actually is a music chameleon. You name it, he probably has it on his iPod. But his favorites seem to be 90s rap and country. So spending hours in his car means that country was forced on me regularly. As much as I tried and tried to deny it, it was growing on me.

And I had country girl roommates living with me. The roomies and I went to see Carrie Underwood last year, and obviously I have been back in love with Carrie ever since. 

Then, I got an offer to go to a Luke Bryan/Florida Georgia Line/Thompson Square concert a few months ago. I thought, "sure, why not, I like concerts. I won't know many songs, but oh well." So I got myself dressed in somewhat country form (shorts and plaid is as good as it was gonna get) and went on my merry way. 

And I have been changed ever since. I am pretty sure I seem like the biggest poser, but I have the biggest obsession with country now. Last week, I even caught myself listening to KSON online...seriously, who am I? 

I totally get that I am not a die-hard country fan that knows every song on the radio, has an iPod full of boot-scootin boogies, and incorporates cowboy boots into my everyday attire. But I am a renewed fan thanks to my concert experiences. Country concerts are so dang fun. They're lighthearted, uber american, and an all around good time. 

So now I have a new dilema: 

Do I save up $250 and take my poser self to Stagecoach? I have always wanted to go to a festival. I could never do Coachella because then I would REALLY be a poser. But Stagecoach is calling to me. And cowboy boyfriend is totally down to be my date. 

I am basically broke, so that is definitely holding me back. But country and I are besties as of recent, and I don't see our friendship dying out anytime soon. 

xo and yee-haw.

10 reasons why I miss summer.

1. Giant Snowcones

 2. Fourth of July. The only day we can match and no one judges us.

3. Beach Camping

 4. Vegas

most people go out and party in vegas. we played bingo...and won.

we also discovered this place and our lives were forever changed. If you're ever in Nevada, Nielson's Frozen Custard is where its at. 

 5. Spending almost every waking moment in bed with my weird dog.

6. Luke Bryan & Florida Georgia Line Concert

7.  Our annual Yuma river trip

8. New York City

9. Baseball Games

any good Padre fan knows the game isn't complete without garlic fries. and I make mine more disgusting  more delicious by adding tons of onions. 

10. Summer doesn't involve class schedules, deadlines, dorm rules, or graduation contracts. 

 But everyone keeps telling me this was the last Summer break I will ever have, because unless I become a teacher, Summer is now just a season for the rest of my days. Oh well, it was a very good one. 

xo

The only chaperone without a kid...let's keep it that way.

My mom and I have always been super close my entire life. Most kids can't wait to break away from their parents as soon as they can, but that was never me. I didn't get my license until I was 20 because I felt no need to drive myself. I was fine with my mom driving me to and from COLLEGE. Holy moly, when I look back at those days, I am embarrassed for myself. She still has to come get me from school now, but not due to lack of licensing anymore. Now it is just that I don't have a car. REGARDLESS, my mom and I are very close. 

So, when I come home from school at the end of each week, I usually go on Thursdays or Fridays and take her lunch or help out in her classroom, simply because I like seeing her. I have gotten somewhat close to her class this year and that's saying a lot because I am not a kid fan. But these ones are pretty precious and I have been their unofficial class photographer for parties this year. On Friday, I went as photog/chaperone on the 1st grade class field trip to Bates Nut Farm, which basically is a pumpkin patch out in Valley Center. 

 The day included a tractor ride, corn maze, learning about how pumpkins grow (FYI pumpkins are all girls...who knew?), and picking a pumpkin to take home. Being the freak I am, my favorite part of the day was feeding goats and sheep.

 aaand taking selfies with them. 

Many a mom asked if I wanted them to take my picture for me, but that would be too normal. And that is just not me. 

I decided on this day that a baby lamb and I must live together some day. I almost cried when I heard her baa-ing. 

By the time the day was done (aka it was noon and time for us to head back to school), I was so sick of children. Bates Nut Farm was crawling with little nuggets. Kids EVERYWHERE. They're crazed, clingy, wild, and stressful (they're really not, I just am dramatic. Forgive me). I was so excited to get back to school and send them off to their own parents. I sound like a horrible person, but I just do not do well with tons and tons of kids (and there were only 11 with us...how sad am I). I like a small group of kids at a time and in small dosages. They're all sweet, don't get me wrong. Just not my thing. I was fine being the only chaperone there without a kid. My mother (that precious little lady seen in the pictures above) says that I will like kids when they are my own. Goodness, I hope so. How much would that suck for my kids if I don't like them. Bless my mother and Jonisan for dedicating their careers to working with kids. I am in awe of people who can do it, because I need a break just after a three hour fieldtrip. They are all sweethearts, I just am not a kid person. I wish I was! I simply have no patience and I stress out way too easily.

Jonathan and I talk frequently about just having Lola be our only child in life. We don't need another, baby Lolie is enough for us.

(seriously, what else could we need?!)

To relax after my exhausting morning of kids (ha, I am so dramatic, it really wasn't bad. I chose to go in the first place), I rewarded myself with my usual Friday ritual: Ross and Nordstrom Rack. I have got to stop going to Ross. All I buy are housewares...and I don't have my own house. This trip I got a throw blanket. Like the kind that go over a couch or at the end of a bed. Last trip I got a dog bed and wall hangings. Seriously, I am a housewife without a house. I always have to restrain myself from buying shower curtains and coffee mugs.

Now the weekend is over and I am back at this horrible place called school. Sigh. Time for the countdown to the weekend to start again.

xo, 

Sarah