My Simple Randomness!

HIGHLIGHTS: Playing Catch Up

2012-01-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

Woah, time sure does fly by!!!

I can't believe that more than 3 weeks has gone by already since I last blogged!

I didn't realize I hadn't been on Blogger in so long!!

My excuse this time isn't that school's been keeping me busy because I'm actually still sort of on break.

I've pretty much just been enjoying my free time :) I was back home in SoCal with my family up until a week ago doing nothing but spending every last minute ENJOYING myself! ;D

Those of you who are my friends on Facebook, you all know what I've been up to! haha

Last Thursday I drove back to school in preparation for this coming semester.

Monday I had a hospital orientation and Tuesday I spent the day practicing my nursing "skills" (IV starts, cpr, picc line care, chest tubes, etc..). And now I'm currently at Aylwin's spending my last couple of days before the semester starts studying for my Med Math Calculations Test (acute/critical care medication calculations) & getting some reading done.

But enough of that, I'm sure you'll hear a LOT more of school this semester from me later on.

Let me give you the HIGHLIGHTS of my time absent from blogger.

I went to Disneyland!!

The 4 of us (dad, mom, sister, & I) went

No pictures of my mom, she's a very private person & doesn't want her face online

We had a WONDERFUL time! ;D

I love spending time with my family & where else better than The Happiest Place On Earth?! ;)

I absolutely love my family so much

& am just so thankful that we are so close ♥

I feel extremely fortunate to have such a loving and supportive family.

<3333

And so speaking of family, here are some more pictures

Can you tell that Mari is sort of the highlight of my this collage?? haha

Even with two other new baby cousins after her, she remains my favorite<3 :)

I tried spending time with this ~~little~~ not so little one too! :)

On my last day before leaving, I took Tracy to Syrup Desserts after she got out of school for a quick snack

I sometimes really wish that I didn't live so far so that I could be around for her more.
Even with the five year gap, I feel really close to her ♥ and it makes me sad to be so far away :(

Oh & I forgot to mention, I've found myself a second family! hahah
It's Aylwin's :)
I haven't had a chance to blog about it, but his siblings and I get along pretty well

A couple of days before I left, his sister asked me for a "food adventure" so I took them the three of them on a "Dessert Adventure"

Our first stop was Bottega Louie (pictures above), our second was Milk for some ice cream sandwiches, & then we took a look into Susina Bakery & Cafe.

I love the fact that I can hang out with his family!

The day after Christmas I went out with his family (parents included) to Santa Monica for lunch and some shopping. A few days after that Aylwin, his younger siblings, myself, & my little sister all hung out at the house and had lunch & watched a movie. And then before I left, I hung out with just the three youngest of Aylwin's siblings :)

Also, another highlight of my break was... FOOD of course!!

I absolutely LOVE to eat! I may even call it a mild obsession with food! haha

With that said,

let me introduce you all to...

Happy Tummies

OUR Food Blog

Aylwin & I had been brainstorming for the past few months, and now it's here!!!

Please, check it out! :)

I'm a little nervous about this coming semester's work load, so we'll see how juggling this blog and my food blog with Aylwin goes, but either way, I'M EXCITED!

♥,

Dana

My Prince Charming

2012-01-03T00:04:00.000-08:00

I know I've been talking about him a lot & maybe some of you are tired of hearing about him and us, but TOO BAD!! Haha, jk :)

It's just that the way I feel about him, I've never felt this way about someone before. The potential I see in this relationship is surreal - but I just have to remember to take it one day at a time and stop looking too far. lol

Seriously though, couldn't have fallen in love with anyone better!

♥

The Saturday after I finished finals Aylwin took me out & we spent the day in San Francisco.

It was one of the most perfect days we've ever spent together <3

We had brunch at Foreign Cinema

Croque Madame: toasted French ham & Gruyere sandwich topped with an egg & bechamel

Baguette French Toast w/ mangoes, bananas, & orange-cardamom butter

Eggnog Cheesecake w/ cranberry preserve & walnut crumble

Brunch was delicious!!
Foreign Cinema is one of my favorite brunch places, I love it!
but because of the price it's not really a place for us to just go whenever we feel like it, so it was a real treat for me :) Aylwin sure knows how to spoil me ;) hehe

After brunch we went to Mission Minis to pick up some cupcakes

Aren't they just the cutest!?! ;D

Then we headed to Golden Gate Park to check out the Japanese Tea Garden

I've been wanting to check out the garden since this past summer, but coordinating between having time to go was an issue because we always had so many other things we wanted to do and then after that the weather interfered with plans.

But even though it was the middle of December, the weather was perfect.

It was so beautiful at the garden & a wonderful day to be out :)

So many koi fish in the ponds

I really loved the garden, I was so glad that Aylwin and I went! :D

When we finished, we walked around the Golden Gate Park for a little bit longer

Because I had been so busy with finals prior to visiting Aylwin, I hadn't really talked to him for about a week because school came first & I didn't have time. I had really missed him and doing something so simple as walking around the park was just so nice <3

After the park we went to the Stonestown Galleria to do some shopping before dinner :)

The Christmas tree in the middle of the mall was really nice, I love holiday decorations!

For dinner we went to Q Restaurant & Wine Bar

From the decor, you can tell it's a fun, quirky restaurant

But don't let the funky decor detour you from visiting, the food is amazing!

Aylwin had the Beer Battered Catfish w/ corn relish, garlic fries, & chili-lime aioli
& I had Duck Confit w/ dried cherry-pinot noir reduction topped with Cypress Grove goat cheese on a fried polenta & grilled asparagus

There were mixed reviews on yelp, making me a little nervous to make the dinner suggestion to Aylwin (he had dinner plans in mind, but I wanted to try to contribute to our day), luckily we had good service and great food!!

But our day didn't end there, of course we needed to get dessert!! ;D haha

We went Citizen Cake for dessert ;)

Chef Elizabeth Falkner (who's been on the Food Network) owns the restaurant !

We got so many desserts!!! XD

Pineapple upside-down Cupcake & Butterscotch Pudding

chocolates & Chocolate sandwich Cookies

French Macarons!! ;) yummmmm... Such a TREAT!!

house-made Rosebud Soda

I had an absolutely amazing time with Aylwin!!

He's seriously just so incredible ♥

I feel like I found my prince charming :) He treats me like a princess
is just so good to me & spoils me like crazy.

But that's one of the many reasons why I love him so much,
Most of all, I love him because he's my best friend and because we just belong together ;) hehehe

When I'm with him, everything just seems so right<3

♥,

Dana

Christmas Day

2011-12-30T10:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays :)

I love it for all that it has to offer: the delicious foods, yummy baked goodies, Christmas lights/decorations, wreaths, trees, the smell of pine, presents, but most importantly family ♥

My (mom's side) grandparents

We visited them and brought Christmas dinner over :)

My (dad's side) Grandma <3

& she's holding the youngest of our family, Sofia [3 months old].

Grandma's 3rd great-grandchild - she's a little chunker with some crazy hair! ;) lol

Here's Isabella, the 2nd youngest in the family who's 1 & SUPER cute!

& my favorite, Mari! ^__^ I've posted about her before

I know you're not supposed to have favorites in a family, but I just can't help it!!
She's got one heck of a personality, is unique, and the most awesome 3 year old I know!

Of all of the great presents she got for Christmas, this pink Hello Kitty star wand was one of her favorites, haha.

Sister Tracy helping her fly!

& funny pictures!! ;D

Me, Mari, Tracy, & our cousin Melaine

The two guys not in B&W are the only male cousins on my dad's side.
My grandma has 2 grandsons, 8 granddaughters, & 3 great-granddaughters!

7 / 11 of the army of girls <3 lol

& Look, Santa Clause came !! :D

Every year, he still comes to visit the Yoshimizu house :) haha

I hope you all have been enjoying the holidays as much as I have!!

Now it's time for me to catch up with what you all have been up to

♥,

Dana

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T01:49:00.000-08:00

It just passed 12:00 am not too long ago, so....

Merry Christmas!!!

^__^

I thought I'd share some Christmas Eve pictures with you all :)

Our Christmas Tree!

the top looks kinda funny, like it got chopped off or somehting, but it adds personality to our tree ;) heheh

My mom's been Betty Crocker in the kitchen lately, baking delicious goodies :D

She's been making A LOT of these butterball cookies/Mexican wedding cookies whatever you wanna call them - they're delicious!

She made SEVERAL batches of them for Aylwin and his family, they just LOVE em. They'll wait all year for her cookies :)

&& look!!!

So yummy!! My mom put this plate together just because :)

Aylwin came by to pick up/drop off some stuff and hung out with us for a bit.

I was sporting the bummy, no makeup look today. haha

But you all have already seen me without my face done, so I really don't care. lol

It makes me so happy that he gets along with my family & just hangs out with us :)
Pretty good first Christmas (*well sorta Christmas Eve*) if you ask me!

So this is Aylwin's gift to me...

a CAMERA ! :D

& it has a FRONT SCREEN!

No more cropping the tops of our heads off!! Lol

Christmas Eve Dinner :]

Well I've got to get to bed now, or else Santa won't be coming! Lol

I'm 21 and Santa still comes and visits the house!! ;) hehehe

I hope that you all are having, or have had a wonderful Christmas!!
Stay safe & happy <3

♥,

Dana

Christmas Pictures

2011-12-23T12:10:00.000-08:00

Every year we send out a Christmas Picture rather than a Christmas Card.

My parents have always sent out family Christmas pictures of my sister & I

Christmas 2011 Picture

I like it, but I don't love it.
I think my sister looks GREAT, but idk, not liking myself in this picture :p

I wasn't around when the Christmas picture was chosen & I was super swamped with school, so I didn't get much say this year. But as my sister would say, "You get to choose every year and I never like the picture, so this year I got to pick" lol

This was last year's:

Christmas 2010 Picture

Last year's was taken while we were on Vacation in Mammoth

but this year we took the picture on Thanksgiving since Tracy & I couldn't decide on a picture from THIS year's Mammoth trip. It's really difficult to decide on a picture that both of us are happy with.

If I had it my way, I'd choose something like this!!

^__^

LOL

AHAHAHAH!!

I love these!! Tracy not so much though, hahahhha.

What kinda Christmas Cards/Pictures do you send out??

♥,

Dana

CyberMonday - Juicy Couture

2011-12-21T23:27:00.000-08:00

My second Cyber Monday buy

Juicy Couture

It was seriously like Christmas just came early for me ;D ahaha

I had the packages sent to my parent's house, so when I came back from break I came home to these and also my Abercrombie & Fitch order :)

Pave Heart Key Ring

Isn't it beautiful?! ;D hahaha

Starter Bracelet w. Gold Heart

I don't intend on using it as a Juicy charm bracelet like it's meant for,
I'm just going to wear it layered with my other bracelets
[-maybe I'll do a post on how I layer my bracelets together-]

& What I was MOST excited for!!

HRH Gold Bracelet watch

I LOVE IT!! ^__^

I need to get it resized to fit my little wrist, but other than that it's perfect! ;D

I started lusting over the Marc Jacobs "Henry" watch & then Michael Kors, but told myself I shouldn't be spending the money on stuff like that... but then I saw this and I just couldn't resist. Structurally it was very similar to both watches I had been eyeing, but it was different in that I felt like no one else had it. I know so many of you have the Michael Kors or Marc Jacobs watches, that I felt like marching to the beat of my own drum. lol

& then I debated whether or not to get the rose gold or the gold, and ended up with the gold one - even though I love the way rose gold looks, I'm always wearing gold & like to match my metals. So gold watch = gold earrings/rings/etc. I know lots of people mix and match their metals, but I just am more of a matchy matchy type of gal

Everything was 30% off AND on top of that I got $50 off my order
So in the end I got everything for more than HALF OFF the original prices!!

rather than spending $350+ I spent less than $200 :D

&
ONLY 3 MORE DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!!

♥,

Dana

CyberMonday - Abercrombie

2011-12-21T00:49:00.000-08:00

Playing catch up now & am posting a few things I bought on Cyber Monday

I made two purchases: Here's my first one

Abercrombie & Fitch had 50% off their online store

haha, nothing exciting, just a bunch of YOGA PANTS! :D lol

I really love the fit of the pants, so I bought myself a few pairs.

I also figured once I have these I no longer have an excuse for not working out or going for runs. Before I only used to have work out shorts & so my excuse would be that it's too cold to go out running or I'd be too embarrassed to go to the gym with unshaven legs! HAHA no more excuses!!

Each pair normally retails for $50 each, but I only paid like $10 a pair :)
woot! woot! ^__^

Stay tuned for my next Cyber Monday post!! ;)

♥,

Dana

Lucasfilm Holiday Party!

2011-12-17T08:07:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the long delay!

Finals are done & over with!! WooHooo!!

Me & my handsome date ;)

I think we make one heck of good looking a couple! ;D har har har

Here's the part where I say jk, but I'm not going to because I think it's true. LOL

Not to sound conceited, but I think we just look great together!

The party was at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco

So let me give you a tour of the inside!

Whiskey Bar

They had different performers dancing to various styles of dance

Dance floor in the beginning of the night was empty, but by the end of the night it was completely packed!

There was a game area too! hahaha

And a little lounge like/sit down area

There were different "themes"

This was the Western area with music, some cowgirl lady on stilts, & the Whiskey bar

The ballroom dancers were my favorite!!

Look at her beautiful dress!

Food :)

Us again! ^__^ haha

I had a fabulous time!!
It was nice to take a little break from my studies to have fun for the night ;D

I have SO MUCH to blog about that I need to catch up on.
I know I always say that, but it's because it's true. haha
I hope you are all ready for me to be blogging like crazy again :)

Time for me to visit your blogs again too!! xD

♥,

Dana

Sneak A Peek

2011-12-12T11:29:00.000-08:00

Too busy studying now do a full post,

but I'll give you all a little peek of Saturday night

♥

The Holiday Part was fun! :D

I was so happy to finally spend some time with him!

Aylwin's not the mushy, lovey-dovey type, but..

My Goodness, I love him!! lol

I'll blog more when I have time.

ttyl!
*hopefully soon*

♥,
Dana

It's About Time!

2011-12-09T02:26:00.000-08:00

I'll finally be seeing Aylwin!!

**I know it's really late & I should be sleeping already**
but I made the mistake of taking a nap earlier >_< It was a short one, and I NEEDED the rest, but taking a nap at 10:00 pm was just bad timing on my part -__-

So now I'm just blogging to wind down

As you all know from my past posts, I've been studying like a mad woman.

The other night, I went to bed at 4:30 AM and woke up a few hours later at 7:30 to continue my studying. It's paying off so far. I got an A on my Maternal final today! :)
At 8:30 am I'll be taking one of two REALLY BIG tests for the semester... Stressing, but I feel confident. I'm really hoping that just like with my final, all the hard work will pay off
*it better!* lol

I haven't really talked to Aylwin in like a few days now. I miss him like crazy!!!
But tomorrow I'll finally get to see him ^__^

I don't think I've ever look forward to seeing him so much before

Yeah I'll be studying & needing to work on my care plans and stuff, but I'll finally be able to see him AND FINALLY talk to him! lol

Imagine not being able to have any time to see or even talk to your significant other AND same with your best friend - no seeing or talking to either of them. Kinda depressing, huh?!
So I've got my best friend & boyfriend all wrapped up into one person, heck yes I miss him!!

But I'll finally be seeing this handsome guy again ;D

Friday afternoon I'll be leaving Turlock and heading to Aylwin's for the weekend.
I'll be doing school stuff all weekend still, but Saturday evening I'll be going with Aylwin to his work's holiday party!! ;)
Last year was fun, so I'm definitely looking forward to this year's. AND don't forget the much needed break from school for a bit, haha.

My next post will be from this weekend whenever I have time for it.

So look forward to seeing pictures from the Lucasfilm Holiday Party!!

♥,
Dana

Definitely Found A Keeper

2011-12-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

*quick break from studying*

Look what Aylwin picked up for me !!

I blogged about this ice cream before & it's my FAVORITE

^___^

They're waiting for me in his freezer!! ;D

SO this Saturday when I go to visit him (I'll have to take a 'time-out' from my studies to go to his work's annual holiday party), I'll get to have some :)

AND now Aylwin's not just a keeper because he's super sweet and buys me ice cream, or takes me out to dinner, or treats me to delicious, mouth-watering foods. Or because he's my best friend, or blah blah blah, the list can go on & on. Lol

But also because he's amazingly understanding.

I have hardly any time for him - As noted in my last post.

And he's been more understanding then I could have imagined.

He's always been really good about making sure I get my school work done. Whether it's reminding me to study, asking me if I've finished my care plans or papers, or even going out for longer bike rides on Saturdays to give me ore time to work on stuff.

But I've always had time for him, now I just don't. I talked to him for like a whole 5 minutes online through instant messaging tonight & he was okay with it. He's been strangely understanding with my crazy schedule and me being frazzled and just kinda all over the place. lol

I've just never been with someone before who understood the value of my studies. Like REALLY understood how much it meant to me and my future.

And I guess that is what's so great about Aylwin :) He understands <3

Luckily I'm fortunate enough to be with someone who shares the same values as I do. Family is number one for both of us. And school/career is number two on our lists.

He not only understands me as an individual,

but he also understands & shares the same values that are important to me in life.

That right there, is why he's a keeper ♥

♥,

Dana

Long Distance & School

2011-12-05T20:30:00.000-08:00

*WARNING*

- this is just a lame post of me venting about how much I miss my boyfriend -___-

I miss Aylwin so much :(

Because school's been so busy lately, I don't even have much time to talk to him.

We rarely talk on the phone since we webcam
& we don't really text each other since we chat on AIM.
But we pretty much stopped chatting through instant messaging as school got more intense.

We used to webcam every night and talk for maybe an hour or two, but that doesn't even happen as much anymore. Our webcam sessions have become so limited.

I had to really cut back on my time with him so that I could get my school work done.
Especially with Thanksgiving break being so close to the end of the semester. Having gone home for Thanksgiving, I lost 5 days of getting any work done, so I had to compensate for that by cutting out Aylwin time & with a couple sleepless nights.

I did get to see Aylwin during Thanksgiving because we drove back home together, but this is what a lot of it looked like.

One of us was likely sleeping while the other drove.

And while back home, we both spent it with our own families since neither of us had seen them since September. And Sunday night after driving back up we did go out for dinner and dessert [I'll maybe do a post on that] but it wasn't much time compared to what I'm used to.

AND THEN, I spent my entire Friday, Saturday, & Sunday in Madera at Children's Hospital Central California [It was an amazing experience, I'll do a post on that too], so I didn't get to see Aylwin this weekend

I had just gotten used to spending so much time with Aylwin, that now I'm having a hard time dealing with all this time apart.

On an average week, I used to be at his place from Thursday through Sunday.

I went from being at Aylwin's all the time, to like never! And it's not like I spent every second with him, because when when I'd be over there he'd go to work, or for his bike rides, and I'd study and get school stuff done, but we sure had a lot of time spent together, I felt like we practically lived together for awhile. I felt as if his place was more like home to me & now my apartment just feels so empty. I used to LOVE living by myself, & now I'm just kinda like ehhhhh.. it isn't that great.

blah... :/

I MISS HIM!!!

♥,

Dana

Airborne

2011-12-01T00:38:00.000-08:00

Been taking airborne for the past couple days...

With the end of the semester coming up, I'm pushing my body to its limits.

Sleep deprivation is getting the best of me :(

Today I finished my last "big" paper for the semester woohoo! I would have never guessed that I would be wishing that there weren't page limits to my papers. Because it's quite difficult to put all the information necessary into a restricted amount of pages. 20% of my grade had to be crammed into 3 pages.

And prior to that, a paper for my pediatric class & another for my reproductive health class together totaled 25 pages! & the crazy part is that I wish I had more! o____o

One more small paper that I need to finish by tomorrow & then...
Friday, Saturday, & Sunday I'll be at Children's Hospital Central California in Madera for my last round of Clinical this semester

Then preparation for finals begins!!! >___<

3 exams, 1 presentation, 2 ATI tests, & care plans from Madera. eep!!

Two more weeks & I'll be done, just two more weeks !

♥,

Dana

PS: I've got a BUNCH of stuff that I want to catch you all up on!!!

Once winter break comes, I'll be back !! ;D hahaha

11.11.11

2011-11-11T17:08:00.000-08:00

I LOVE F21 !

I won't be buying anything (though it's tempting), but I thought I'd share this all with you :)

♥,
Dana

SAVE ME....

2011-11-09T22:55:00.000-08:00

Exam tomorrow :(

I'd much rather be sleeping

Gahhhhhh... I can't wait for this semester to be finished already!! >_<

I promise I'm not pooping in that last picture! That's just me being me. If you're following my blog, you've gotta accept me for for the dolled up Dana & the not so glamorous (makeup-less, glasses wearing, sad) side of me too. lol
This semester has just been kinda rough & I want it to be winter break already. 6 more weeks... just 6 more weeks

Okay well my break is over... back to studying [*sigh*]

♥,
Dana

I Bid You All Adieu... just for now

2011-10-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

My camera hasn't seen my face in awhile.
Most of the pictures I've taken lately end up being of food or Aylwin, so I figured it was my turn, haha :)

Too bad I don't have a cute looking Halloween costume to show off to you all

Instead I've just got my boring ol' face ;p

Regarding the title of my post:

I'll be BUSY, BUSY, BUSY this month:

- I feel like it's crunch time.

I have several BIG papers due

1 for my Pediatric class: I need to do a family/child interview, perform an in-home assessment, & write a bunch of stuff regarding my "findings"
1 for my Reproductive Health class: I need to conduct a birthing experience interview of 2 births (with at least one before 1985) and compare them to current practices
2 for Clinical: I need to write community observation papers - 1 peds (based off of a Daddy 101 class) & 1 ob (based off of a breastfeeding class)
1 for my Minority Studies class: some sort of theory paper I think (gotta check the syllabus)

And of course this is in addition to exams and all the other school work that I'll have to still do *yuck* But that's nursing school for you!

AND this is JUST the month of November. This doesn't include December! >_<

December is Double Crunch Time because of FINALS :( and all that fun stuff

Anyways, that means that blogging should be put at the bottom of my priority list *boo*

Knowing me, I'm sure I'll still post to keep everyone updated (& let my parents know I'm still alive, lol)

But I'll probably not be around Blogger too much visiting everyone's blogs.

I'll catch up with everyone during my winter break -- in about 6 weeks!
See ya all around the holidays !!

yea, I know, I'm kinda strange :)

♥,

Dana

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T19:59:00.000-07:00

"How sad.. It's Halloween & we both already want to go to bed

and it's only 7:30 pm" - Aylwin

LOL!

Aylwin & I are such boring old farts.

This has been one of the laziest, uneventful Halloweens I've had in a long time

& I loved it! ;D haha

And the highlight of my Halloween weekend:

Aylwin has Star Wars: the complete saga on Blu-ray !!
^__^

We finished Episode I and got half way through Episode II
I'm hoping to get to at least Episode IV or V through this coming weekend ;)

I bet you all would've never guessed! ahahaha

♥,

Dana

LAST Saturday

2011-10-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

We went to Novato for dinner at Tavola & dessert at Toast

Aylwin made a 6:00 reservation for 2 at Tavola

burrata . tomato jam . maldon salt . grilled crostini

salsiccia pizza - house made fennel sausage . fennel . cresenza . tomato

handmade pasta . braised wild boar

I'm not sure what it is, but I really like restaurants with open kitchens - like at Foreign Cinema

At the end of our meal, we ordered this:

chocolate tart . sea salt . olive oil

But Aylwin didn't count the chocolate tart as a "real" dessert.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, we went to Toast for dessert :)

See all that in the server's arms? All ours !

TOAST Apple Pie w. ice cream . caramel

Grand Marnier Creme Brulee

Cinnamon Fried TOAST w. bananas foster . toasted almonds . vanilla ice cream

The guy who keeps my tummy full and ♥ happy! ;)

♥,

Dana

Cows From Heaven

2011-10-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

I have discovered the BEST & most amazing ice cream on the face of this planet!!

I kid you not! This stuff is better than anything I have ever had - EVER!!!

Trust me when I say this, it is like... amazingly... indescribable? LOL

I'm lost for words!! That's how good this stuff is.
Aylwin & I have had more than our fair share of ice cream, so trust me on this one.

We finished the pint of ice cream in like 5 minutes!

And do you wanna know what makes the ice cream so gosh darn good??

The Straus Family Creamery COWS!!

Did you read the blog title: "Cows From Heaven" - if I thought it was possible, that's exactly where I'd think they come from. Blessed by God himself, Lol.

The Straus Family Creamery is a small, family-owned, organic creamery from the Bay Area, located just north of San Francisco.

"The Straus dairy farms organically... committed to land-management and animal-care practices that preserve the environment for future generations. "

"We use no herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilizers on our fields. "

"Our grasses tend to be sweeter because of the salty ocean air out here in northern Marin. "

The first time I had any of their products was when Aylwin took me to Pizzeria Picco and we had their Soft Serve. I even said in the post that "it was best soft serve that I have ever had"

The second time was at Chile Pies & we had their frozen yogurt. That was also really good.

We picked up the pint of ice cream from Whole Foods & were both blown away at how great the ice cream was!

You all need to try your hardest to get your hands on some of their products.
You won't regret it!
Go to their website, check it out, & see if they sell anything near your area
http://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/

AND if you're from the bay area, you better go find a restaurant or bakery that has their ice cream/soft serve/frozen yogurt, whatever it may be. OR check your local Whole Foods & pick up a pint.

I look forward to trying their other products:

milk, yogurt, butter, & eggnog when Christmas rolls around! ;)

♥,

Dana

One Dollar Eyelashes

2011-10-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I lost my all time FAVORITE eyelash glue while out clubbing :(

My "shu uemura eyelash adhesive" was better than any of the others I've tried

Great staying power, no irritation, didn't dry out, & lasted forever.
BUT I paid a ridiculous amount of $$ for it >_<

So I've been looking for something new & cheaper to replace my lost treasure.

Just recently Jen did this post about glue from OneDollarEyelashes.com

& obviously, I couldn't resist myself:

This is what I ended up getting

Everything came in a little bubble wrapped envelop

Lashes came free with my order

THIS is the glue!

I ended up buying two :p
The excuses I made up to justify needing both were that shipping would be the same price no matter how many I bought. And in case I really liked the stuff, I wanted to have a second one. ALSO, what if I lost one? I should definitely have a back up for that possible scenario.

Anyways, I don't do reviews on my blog, so check out Jen's. Lol

I just wanted to share this all with you since I have not bought anything makeup related in MONTHS. I can't even remember the last time I bought something from Sephora or MAC

- I think my last purchase from MAC was in like December of 2010!!!

Can you believe that!?! Pretty impressive self-control there!

So proud of myself ;)

haha

♥,

Dana

777 - Lucky Number Seven

2011-10-26T00:44:00.000-07:00

1.. I have a total of 8 piercings

3 on each ear lobe, my belly, & the most recent one:

2.. I have virgin hair

I've never dyed my hair before, never ever. I've wanted to & have been quite tempted to, but for now, I can definitely still say that I have virgin hair. Besides, we all know that maintenance for dying your hair can get time consuming & costly. One less thing I have to worry about.

3.. I grind my teeth in my sleep

I have a mouth guard since it's pretty bad, but I forget to use it - or well actually to be honest I can't even remember the last time I've worn it...

4.. I don't like wearing horizontal stripes

out of fear that they'll make me look wide. Vertical stripes are fine as they'll help to elongate my stubby body, but I feel like horizontal ones just make me look plump.

5.. I'm horrible with technology

& most of the time, I feel like I'm technologically challenged.
Sort of ironic that I'm with Aylwin as he's a total tech guy - his job title: Assistant Technical Director. lol

6.. Balance & Coordination are not my strong suits

I'm always tripping over my own feet, missing steps/curbs, and constantly bumping my hips on or walking into: door ways, tables, chairs, cars, bushes, walls, etc.... you all get the point. haha

7.. I have glasses

that I don't wear regularly because my eye sight isn't too bad. I usually only wear them if I'm reading, studying, or doing school work at the end of a long day. Mostly just when my eyes are tired & get lazy on me.

And now what was that all for??
It was part of the "rules" for receiving this award that Cindy gave me! :)

Now I "Choo- Choo- Choose You!" :

♥,

Dana

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning & a Glass of Wine

2011-10-24T18:17:00.001-07:00

I finally washed my makeup brushes after like...

a LONG ass time!
I seriously think the last time I washed them was the end of summer - 2 months maybe? YIKES! O_O

Kind of gross if you think about it, but honestly now:
How many of you all seriously wash your makeup brushes regularly??

I barely find enough time in the day to do things like make my bed in the morning, lol. So washing my brushes is sort of on the lower end of my priority list.

AND another thing ....

I FINALLY cleaned up my apartment!!!

Vacuumed, dusted, swept, & put all the crap that was thrown all over this pigsty away
I had clothes, shoes, books, papers, binders, purses, jackets, hangers, etc everywhere.

It looked disastrous!! Like embarrassingly messy =/

I was avoiding letting anyone over to my place & if friends did come over.. -___-

I'd be embarrassed to the MAX ! >_<

My mother would be disappointed if she saw how bad I let my apartment get.
[- I'll have to do a post explaining my whole living situation later, lol -]

Quite the productive day today

especially considering that I was at the hospital for more than half of it for clinical :)

I left the house this morning at 5:40 am & got back at maybe 4:15 pm ish?

Now I'm blogging with a glass of wine ;)

But unfortunately, my night won't end here :(

I'll be reading for a book discussion. "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" it's pretty good. I find myself in tears as I read it sometimes.
And I think I'll also work on my Care Plans a little bit too :p

♥,

Dana

Weekend FOOD PORN

2011-10-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

The Aylwin/Dana Usual :D

hahaha

This was Thursday night's dinner

Looks like enough food to feed a family of four !

& in case you're wondering if we ate all of that, no we didn't. lol

We had a Restaurant.com coupon & needed to spend $45

This meal doubled as two & we had the leftovers on Saturday night

I mentioned [in this previous post] that Aylwin & I spent Sunday in San Francisco

Well here are some picture! :D

Our little "snack" from PPQ Dungeness Island

garlic noodles & shrimp

City Cycle bike shop is where I blogged Sunday's post from while waiting for Aylwin to pick something out with this livingsocial coupon.

Sushi for dinner at We Be Sushi

I sort of failed at taking pictures

& kept forgetting to take them before we ate. lol

hahaha, that was part of our Tempura Dinner Plate

Chicken

Sushi! :D

DESSERT! ^__^

Chile Pies for ice cream & pies

We wanted pie shakes, but we didn't get any :(
They didn't have the pie that we wanted for our pie shakes

I hope you're not getting tired of seeing our faces

hahaha

♥,

Dana

Banana Slug

2011-10-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Found this when I was with Aylwin on Angel Island

Just another random post

♥,

Dana

Sunday In the City

2011-10-16T16:08:00.001-07:00

Spending the day in San Francisco with Aylwin :)

Just came back from lunch at PPQ (got garlic noodles & a charbroiled shrimp rice dish)

Now we're at a bike shop and Aylwin's picking something out with a LivingSocial coupon.

Later...

Sushi & Chile Pies & Ice Cream for dessert! ;)

PIE SHAKES tonight!!!

♥,

Dana

OUR Story: Falling In Love with My BestFriend ♥

2011-10-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

More than 7 years in the making

hahaha

Let's start from the beginning . . . .

When I first met Aylwin, I was 14, and a freshman in HS - he was a junior.

By the time he graduated, I considered him a really good friend, and I definitely had a liking for him [& vice versa]. But I let an opportunity between us slip away & we remained "just friends"...

The following 2 years I still had feelings for him, but I just figured it was better left unsaid. I told myself that things worked out for a reason, and was just happy that Aylwin & I became best friends.

The last three years I was in two relationships

Both of them questioned my friendship with Aylwin.

I'll admit that Aylwin was always my "what if" guy, but I honestly didn't think in a million years we'd ever be together. I kind of just talked myself out of any ideas of him and I, especially since for college I moved up North & he was still in SoCal.

**fast forward a little bit**

I Call It Perfect Timing:

Aylwin got a job in San Francisco (about 2 hours away from where I live) & it gave me the opportunity to spend some quality time with my best friend :)

[-Read the end of This Post-]

I was still with my ex bf Ricky at the time & he found it really weird that I cared so much about Aylwin & would even say that I loved him. Lol

But I thought it was normal. hahaha

People say that they love their best friends all the time, so why could I say that I loved my best friend ?

I mean I wasn't IN love with Aylwin, I just loved him because he meant so much to me. He knew me better than anyone else: the good, the bad, and the really ugly sides of me. lol

Well Ricky & I broke up in the very beginning of this year & it just gave me more time to spend with friends... Aylwin being one of them! ;D

Take A Little Picture Adventure:

This will give you an idea of the past 8+ months between Aylwin & I

[links to facebook albums]

Japan Town dinner

Aylwin's B-Day weekend

Memorial Day weekend

Alice's Summerthing

Lucasfilm Picnic

July 4th dinner

Him & I were just getting along SUPER well. We weren't driving each other absolutely insane like I thought we would after spending days at a time with each other.

&& as the weeks went by, I started falling for him...

I called this summer a "transition"

A transition from Best Friends to boyfriend/girlfriend

but let me tell you something:
Transitioning our friendship to a romantic relationship was not a piece of cake.
It was a struggle for me because there was just so much uncertainty about it all. If things didn't work out between us, I'd not only lose a relationship, but I'd lose my best friend - which was the scariest part !

BUT I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass by & not pursue this relationship, because I know that if I didn't, I would've regretted it forever.

But clearly [take a look at my past Aylwin Blog Posts] things have worked out <3

^__^

Everything has been just been absolutely mind blowing!!! LOL

It's really hard to explain how amazing everything has been. Aylwin once said, "everyday would be like Valentine's Day for the person I'm with" and it's so true! ♥

*okay maybe not everyday, haha* But he'll do little things without even thinking about it all the time, that just blows me away.

OH, and guess what!?
We can practically read each other's minds! Lol.
We're able to finish each other's sentences. Lots of the time, with only one look, I already know what he's thinking. We don't even need to be in the same room and could be Instant Messaging & bring up the same topic at the exact same time. We're just on the same wavelength ;)

It's freakishly cool!! Hahaha.

We act/sound just like an old couple quite often.

Sometimes I think of my Grandpa & Grandma, which is actually kinda scary, but w/e, lol. We'll bicker and argue about the dumbest things, it's quite funny.

but we're more like one of those disgustingly, cute old couples that you see in the movies, lol jk

The dynamics of our relationship just works out REALLY, really well for us

Having such a strong foundation to our relationship prior to being together

makes me really optimistic about this :)

& I almost feel like we were meant to end up together. That all the bad timing in the past happened for a reason, and that this was just supposed to happen ♥

♥,

Dana

Angel Island w. Aylwin

2011-10-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

We first talked about going to Angel Island months ago,

& we finally went this past weekend! :D

on the ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island

From Tiburon, the ferry ride is only about 10 minutes .
You could also get to Angel Island from San Francisco, but it's a bit more expensive & will take about 20 minutes.

We went for a day of hiking/sightseeing :)

We caught the 10:00am ferry, so it was still overcast when we first got to Angel Island

Old army buildings

That's the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance

Our first hike was a little more than 5 miles & along the perimeter of the island

After our hiking, we decided to eat and refuel before our second hike

Even when we're on an island, we feast! ;D Lol

Tuna Melt w. potato salad, Pulled Pork Sandwich w. potato salad, a breakfast biscuit w. sausage, egg, and cheese, & a cup of chili ! ^__^
oh yea, & also 2 chocolate chip cookies! ahahaha

Aylwin made the smart decision of resting our stomachs before beginning the second hike, so we just walked around a bit, snapped a few pictures, & took a look inside the Visitor Center

Let the second hike begin !

On our way up Mt. Livermore

Now aren't those views just beautiful? :)

Golden Gate Bridge & San Francisco's skyline

Can you see those planes??

It was San Francisco's Fleet Week.

At the top of Mt. Livermore

It's the highest point on Angel Island @ like 780 ft

The views were spectacular !!

I mentioned that it was fleet week above,

and so look at all the boats out on the water to watch the airplane shows

It was a GREAT day out with Aylwin :)
The weather, views, & time spent with him were all amazing
♥

Getting back on the ferry at the end of the day

We caught the very first ferry at 10:00am & the last one at 5:30pm :]

These were just a few of the 100+ pictures I ended up taking Sunday.

Aylwin never ceases to amaze me... <3

My next post will be [longgg &] about the two of us because I need to let you all know how absolutely incredible everything has been ;)
I'm almost at a loss for words .. lol, there's just a lot that I want to say but I'm not quite sure how to word it all.
All of this just seems so surreal.

Somewhere between all of our laughs, random jokes, stupid little fights,

daily conversations, & awesome dinners...

I fell in love with my best friend ♥

♥,

Dana

I Want... Swarovski

2011-10-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

LOOK at these Swarovski USB Flash Drives !

So cute!!

I'd never actually fork out that much $$ for one of them,

but they're really cute! haha

Would you buy one of these??

**SIDE NOTE**
I thought it was Wednesday

*hence the Randomness Wednesday* label,

but it was only Tuesday. lol

♥,

Dana

2011-10-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

♥,

Dana

SPOILED & Loving It!

2011-10-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

The pictures are pretty self-explanatory

He treats me like a princess ;)

Satisfying all my ~~tummy's~~ heart's desires. Lol

♥

& besides sharing <3 for each other,

we both <3 FOOD! ahahahha

♥,

Dana

I Always Knew...

2011-10-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

Besides a minor awkward moment running into an ex bf [Raymond] at a club while with my current bf, everything yesterday was going great prior to 1:00 am

Then... the night just got worse and worse & shit hits the fan
I was an inconsolable mess

I've always known that Aylwin is great at keeping his cool, but yesterday took keeping his cool to a whole new level. He handled the himself, the situation, & me better than anyone could have.

& Then rather than going out for his morning/afternoon bike ride when he wakes up (sometimes I'll still be sleeping when he leaves) like he usually does, he waited around until I was awake to make sure I was okay before he left <3

I'm not going to fill you all in on the whole ordeal, but just know that it didn't have to do with clubbing or drinking or anything of that sort, it was a build up of stupid events that caused me to become so frustrated I just couldn't stop crying.

As Aylwin's best friend

I always knew that he was a keeper,

& any one who had the opportunity to be with him would be lucky.

I just never imagined it would be me

♥

As each day goes by,

my heart grows fonder & fonder

♥,
Dana

♥ MARISOL

2011-10-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

Mari's full name is really Marisol

Lots of people give me (O_o) looks when I tell them that, but what most people don't know is that my cousin (Mari's mom) is half Mexican :]

She's seriously like the most adorable thing ever!

With one heck of a personality ~ which just makes her even more adorable ! xD

LOOK at that!!!
Just too cute!!

& she's super smart
She's the smartest 3 year old I know - at 2 she knew her alphabet, could count (& some in Spanish) , knew all her colors/animals, & can hold a conversation

I can seriously talk to her like she's WAY OLDER than a 3 year old, and when I try to dumb things down for her, she'll sometimes give me this confused look, like I didn't make any sense. lol

Dang it, I miss her so much !

How can you not fall in love with that <3

My love for her is just unmeasurable

She brings so much joy into my life

♥

I've always loved babies and kids and have always been really good with them
& you could probably even call me a little bit baby crazy - I'm one of those people who just can't help but stare & smile & wave at random little kids from across a room or at the super market like a creeper. lol

And I've always known that I want some of my own one day. Like I even have back up plans for kids if I for some reason I can't get pregnant or can't find a husband. LOL

But lately, my goodness...
I'm not exactly sure why, but I've been like baby crazy to a whole new level. I don't wanna call it baby fever, but that's what some of my classmates have called it. haha
(my dad's probably freaking out right now reading this)

AND I'm not saying that I want one now, because I know for damn sure that I'm not ready for a baby, I just have really been longing for one lately.

It's probably mostly because I'm in my Maternal Health & Pediatrics rotation for nursing school,

and maybe Mari has something to do with it,

and maybe my Grandma's rubbing off on me a little (she's been wanting/telling me to have kids for awhile now, lol [I really think she just forgets how old I am]),

and maybe it's.. idk... hahaha I just am really looking forward to motherhood (one day, in the future, not now), hahha.

It must be school because the other day when I was in the Newborn Nursery, I just wanted to hold the baby forever and watch it sleep. lol. (a few of my classmates tease me because I had this "look" in my eyes, hahah) I didn't even wanna take the baby back into his mother's room. Lol.

But yea, now I'm just rambling.
Oops sorry!

No babies for me anytime soon (that is a fact!)
lol

♥,

Dana

Thank You!!!

2011-09-29T23:17:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to say thank you to everyone here on Blogger!!

You have all been so sweet & kind to me <3

I ♥ you all MUCHO!

All of your sweet comments always make me smile :))
It always seem to brighten up my day a little more to hear from you all.

AND thank you to all of my followers!

All 600+ of you all

^__^

I would have never thought that my blog would interest so many people &
well I'm not sure what about my blog or life interests you all, but thanks :)

I guess just knowing that you all are here, makes me more motivated to blog

and speaking of that...

my goodness!
I can't believe how much traffic I get through here, I'm so surprised !
Even on days when I don't post I get a ridiculous amount of people visiting
200-400 page views everyday is sort of mind boggling to me.
Maybe that's nothing for some of you popular people or the beauty bloggers, but dang I'm just like boring ol' Plain Jane who blogs about the most random stuff ever. LOL

But anyways... thank you, thank you

;)

♥,

Dana

LOVE Going Home...

2011-09-28T22:52:00.000-07:00

I know for a fact that living so far away from home (a 5 hour dive w/ no traffic) has definitely made me appreciate my family even more than ever <3

I cherish as much time with them as I can because it sure doesn't come around too often.

I have plenty of friends back in SoCal that I keep telling "we'll catch up when I'm back," but I never do. & it's NOT that they aren't important to me, or I don't care, but my family comes first ♥ And luckily for me, they all understand that :)

As mentioned in my previous post, I went back home for a whole TWO DAYS ! haha
School may be hectic, but I needed to go home
It was my mom's birthday and I just missed everyone too much! :)

My mom's cake

Strawberry Shortcake from Porto's
Pretty darn good! :D

Just part of the family - maybe about 2/3 of us, haha

We ALWAYS do Friday Night Dinners at my Grandma's house

I know that when most people think of Friday night they think about going out & getting together with friends & having fun, or drinking/dancing, etc, etc...

But for me, Friday night means family :)

I seriously wouldn't want to spend my Fridays any other way.

AND it's also when I get to see this little cutie pie!!
(my next post is dedicated to her) lol

[my mom is a very private person. It tends to slip my mind a lot when I'm blogging, & all the other times I've posted pictures with her, it bothers her. So even though it looks silly, that's why she's got a flower in her face]

I L♥VE HER SO MUCH

She has been there for me through all of my ups & downs and crazy moments.
And my goodness, have I put her through hell. I haven't always been the best daughter, but she's been there for me and loved me regardless of all the stupid things I've done.

I am just so grateful to be able to have such a loving, understanding, & amazing mother!

& I feel really fortunate to have such a great relationship with my mom

I know I'm not perfect, but I really try to be for her

I love my family so much!
They are what keeps me grounded <3
& yes I live for myself, but I most definitely live and work as hard as I do for them too.

They mean the absolute world to me and will always be #1 in my life.

Home is definitely where the heart is

♥,

Dana

Pink and Green Caterpillars

2011-09-28T12:00:00.001-07:00

My little cousin [Mari] recently turned 3

& so what little 3 year old wouldn't be fascinated by these

brightly colored Pink & Green Catepillers?! haha

These things kept her entertained for quite a while. LOL

Mari will definitely be in my next post :)

♥,
Dana

Helium Hearts

2011-09-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is such a cute music video!
& I like the song too
:)

I'm running on nothing but caffeine right now.
The past two days have been tough with no sleep.
All I wanna do is curl up in a ball & shut my eyes, but I've gotta power through the rest of the day

About to get together with my group for a presentation we have in a couple of hours
& then right after my Peds class I've got my exam for my Ethnic Studies class
(which I totally didn't prepare enough for)
>__<
Ughhhhhhhh !

I want today to be over already.
Just 7 more hours & I can finally rest my eyes

♥,
Dana

Spending Sunday in my Sweats

2011-09-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Getting school work done

I drove down to SoCal Thursday evening after class to surprise my Mom for her birthday
(A post will definitely be necessary, haha)

& I got back home around 10:00 last night

Yeah I know, such a short trip :(
But it was totally worth it!

& now I've really gotta get to work >_< *boo*

I sometimes wish that my weekends were LONGER ! haha, wouldn't that be nice?? :)

Finishing up my care plans before heading to the hospital early tomorrow morning

Gotta study for an exam that I have Tuesday evening for my Ethnic Studies class

& I've also gotta finish up a Cultural Interview paper that's due Tuesday morning

Blah... That's how I feel right now.
After spending a couple AMAZING days with my family, it's a bit difficult to get my head back into school mode =/

Alrighty, alrighty, no more distracting myself & I'll talk to you all soon.

- I hope you all have a Happy Monday

♥,
Dana

10 Things About Me

2011-09-23T01:50:00.000-07:00

Here we go, the continuation of my last post . . .

1) I love singing along to Disney & Christmas songs ! :D

2) I have a tendency to sometimes only paint my left hand, Haha.

3) I'm EASILY frightened - ask Aylwin, lol.

I screamed out loud the other day in the movie theater... during a preview... :/ oops!

4) I completely indulge in all the delicious, fattening, & artery clogging foods I want to during the weekends [I'm with Aylwin] & am quite strict about my dietary intake during the week
*that's my secret*

5) I listen to everything when I'm driving in the car.

Free Speech/Public Radio, Country, Christian, Hip-Hop/Rap, Rock/Metal, Pop, Alternative, Oldies, R&B.. and sometimes when i'm not paying attention, after a couple of minutes, I'll realize the music is in Spanish. Lol.

6) My weight yo-yo's up & down about 10 pounds every couple of weeks/months

- 10 lbs on a tiny 4'11 body is a LOT >_<

7) I'm a total giver.
Making other people happy brings me more joy than making myself happy a lot of the times.

8) As much as I'm always saying that I'm happy living a simple life without lavish materialistic things - I secretly envy other people who are fortunate enough to afford what my covetous soul so desperatelyyyy desires... hahaha, maybe be I'm being a bit dramatic, but you get the idea. lol

9) I can be ridiculously optimistic :D

Like way past being realistic optimistic, but I think I'm a happier person for it :)

Okay now, are you ready for #10...!?

*My mom actually just asked me if I blogged about this yet, haha*

10) My Best Friend in this entire world [Aylwin] has . . .

also become My BOYFRIEND ♥ ♥ ♥

:)))

I'm sure a lot of you aren't surprised
(same as almost everyone we know)
*Mom's response was "Well it's about time" haha*
or you have already been thinking something's been going on since day one,

but we've been going at our own pace & keeping things to ourselves for awhile ;)

For the past few months we've been working on US & our relationship

I'll obviously do another post about this
[& a post about each of the Random Facts I talked about actually]

So yea, that was my exciting news!

^__^

hahaha

♥,

Dana

Sunshine Award

2011-09-22T01:19:00.000-07:00

Shiny Pretty Things gave this to me :)

I'm supposed to tell 10 Random Facts about myself
&

oh my goodness do I have some random stuff to tell you all !

BUT it's gotta wait till tomorrow

I have something EXTRA exciting I wanna reveal

*let the suspense begin*

;D

to be continued...

♥,

Dana

Body Butter (& eczema)

2011-09-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

I have eczema which causes me to end up with super dry patches that itch like crazy! all over my legs (from my ankles up to my hips).

I've had it for quite some time now & over the years I've learned how to better manage it because I still remember when it used to be REALLY bad...

As hard as I tried to not scratch my eczema too much while I was awake, during my sleep I couldn't control what I did :( I'd wake in the morning with bloody eczema spots because I'd scratch so hard in my sleep that I'd break the skin.
So considering how bad it used to be, I'm so thankful to have it under control

I still itch a lot, but certain things help:

Keeping my skin moisturized is KEY, because once it gets dry, my eczema will begin to flare up and it can get really bad. So Lubirderm Advanced Therapy for extra dry skin helps to moisturize my skin. BUT only for a little while! :/ My skin is like desert sand (lol), it will suck up that lotion so fast that the itch comes back pretty quickly

That's where the Hydrocortisone cream comes in. It really helps with the itch, but dang it! lathering your skin in this would get SUPER expensive >_< Lol, so that doesn't quite work....

That's where BODY BUTTER comes in ! :D

The The Body Shop's Body Butters have been a God send.
They work the best at hydrating my skin & I LOVE it!!!

The only down fall to The Body Shop's body butter is that they are super expensive
:(
It's almost $20 for a 6.9 oz tub

And when I'm lathering globs of this stuff on at a time, I can go through them pretty fast.

So what I do is I buy them on SALE!

the "Shea Butter" body butter works best, but it wasn't on sale, so I ended up with these

Selected butters were only $10!

&&
~~Buy 2 get 1 free~~

Buy 3 get 2 free

In the end I paid $32 for 5 of them!!
That comes up to just over $6 each :D

If I paid full price it would've been close to $100

So even though they weren't quite the scents that I would have normally bought, I didn't mind when I'm getting them for 66% off! ahahahaha

♥,

Dana

PS - if you have REALLY BAD eczema, I'd suggest the Hemp Body Butter (it smells awful - I hated the smell) but the benefits totally outweighed the smelliness [just wear it at night & not before you go out]. It not only hydrates, but worked really well at repairing my damaged eczema-ridden skin.
If you can't handle the smell, go for the Shea Butter. That's your next best bet, not all the perfumy scented ones :)

CLINICAL

2011-09-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

quick post before bed !

I have my first day of Clinical for the semester tomorrow

This semester is Maternity-Child Health Clinical

& I was supposed to be in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit)

BUT there were babies!

zero ...none

Meaning that I had to be placed somewhere else...

So my clinical instructor put me on the Pediatric Unit... but there were no peds patients

-_____-

And since they use the peds unit as an overflow floor, my patient tomorrow is an old lady
Darn, I was totally looking forward to working with the little ones.
Oh well, maybe next week ! :)

But I suppose low census is a good thing

Good for the nurses as it reduces their patient load
& great that no one needs to be in the hospital [:

Healthy People
♥

all ready for tomorrow

Waking up at 4:36 am !

♥,

Dana

Let me UPDATE you

2011-09-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

So besides sitting in class & stuffing my face. . .

What else have I been up to?

Living & Loving LIFE !

^__^

I seriously just feel like I'm in this SUPER awesome place of my life right now

It's like all the pieces are coming into place & I'm really happy.

& I have super awesome friends ~ especially this girl! ;D

I make sure to get my school work done so that I have time for the non-academic adventures I like to fit into my schedule ;) Lol. And occasionally that means going out & having some fun!

I know school's going to get more stressful, it always does as the semester progresses, but for now I'm trying to keep my stress/anxiety level down to a minimum :]

I'm a strong believer in living a balanced life

And that means not completely over loading myself with school because everyone needs some breathing room. It's all about finding that right balance & having good time management.

Oh & I've also been exercising too! :D
I'll go running for a couple of miles or hit the gym a few times a week.

So overall, I feel GREAT!

Physically. Mentally. Emotionally.
I'm golden!

;)

hahaha

♥,

Dana

Randomness Wednesday

2011-09-14T13:48:00.001-07:00

It's called Randomness Wednesday for a reason

Happy Hump Day
:]

♥,

Dana

Korean

2011-09-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

for dinner

;)

♥,

Dana

Tickle My Tummy...

2011-09-09T01:19:00.000-07:00

with DELICIOUS GOODNESS !!!!

^__^

Thanks to Scoutmob Aylwin & I feasted ! ;D

Brunch was at:

Pork Store Cafe

3122 16th St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

(415) 626-5523

Crab Cake Benedict

By far, the absolute BEST crab cake benedict that Aylwin & I have ever had!

Eggs In A Tasty Nest

[ 2 eggs nestled in a bed of hashed browns with

bacon, grilled green peppers, fresh tomatoes,

onions & garlic topped with cheddar cheese ]

Cleaned our plates! hahah

We walked out with huge smiles on our face

& full happy tummies!

We will definitely be returning to Pork Store !! :D

Bi-Rite Creamery

3692 18th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 626-5600

Even though we were full, because Bi-Rite is just a couple blocks away from Pork Store Cafe we just HAD to get ice cream after brunch. lol

Read the reviews on Yelp & you'll understand why ;)

4 scoops! xD hahah

Salted Caramel
Malted Vanilla w. peanut butter brittle

Brown Sugar w. ginger caramel swirl
& [I can't remember]

Dinner was at:

Parada 22

1805 Haight St

San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 750-1111

I had never had Puerto Rican food before until Aylwin brought me here earlier this year & I was blown away. I absolutely loved this place.

Parada 22 may possibly just be my FAVORITE restaurant in SF

I was even more impressed with the food this time than the last time!! :D hahah

If you couldn't tell, Aylwin & I LOVE to eat!! XD

Maduros ~ ripened, sweet plantains

Tostones ~ fried & salted green plantains

Chicharron de Pollo ~ breaded & fried chicken thighs

Camarones a la Criolla ~ sauteed shrimp in tomato, onion, & pepper cream sauce

No leftovers! LOL

It's crazy how much the two of us eat when you really think about it >_<

But we weren't done yet...

Dessert! hahaha

Coconut Flan
tasted much better than it looks. lol

Both brunch & dinner were 50% off !!
All thanks to using Scoutmob!
^__^

Some people are weird about using coupons or those discounted dinner deals you find online, but we love it! We're able to try so many new places we normally probably wouldn't find otherwise :)

Happy, Happy, Happy! :D

Thank you Aylwin <3

♥,

Dana

Chocolate Anyone?

2011-09-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

If you're a chocolate fanatic like me,

you might wanna get yourself a couple of these!

Hahahha!!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!
:D

♥,

Dana

Surprise Dinner @ Pizzeria Picco

2011-09-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

This summer it seemed like all I did was stuff my face with delicious goodness XD

It was great! Aylwin & I had endless amounts of food adventures :D
(those of you who are my friends on facebook, you really know :p lol)

BUTTTTT....

I told him that we couldn't continue to go out to eat the way we used to

It was for a couple of reason:

1) I was gaining a noticeable amount of weight & getting pudgy
2) I don't work & simply just can't afford always eating out

So I've been attempting to cook (I'm hoping that'll get better -__-)

And if I'm not cooking we're using Scoutmob, Groupon, Livingsocial, or some other type of coupons to go out to eat with.

Well a couple of weekends ago the original plan was to go to this BBQ place (we had a buy 1, get one 1/2 off coupon), but then Aylwin mentioned having KFC coupons & I decided we would have that for dinner instead (cheaper too! lol)

But... out of nowhere Aylwin got all weird & secretive

Aylwin: " I know what we're having for dinner "
Me: " Yeah, I do too, KFC "
Aylwin: " No, I have something else in mind "
Me: " Uhhh, what the heck?? What happened to KFC.. O_o "
Aylwin: " Don't worry about it, I know where we're going "

Me: " Where are we going?! "
Aylwin: " Don't worry about it "

I didn't have a clue where we were going or what was going on. And Aylwin doesn't ever not tell me what the plan is, so I was just like "O__o Omgggg! Where are we going?? the entire drive to the restaurant! LOL

We ended up at Pizzeria Picco
& apparently if I was a "real foodie" I'd know of this place, but #fail on my end for having no clue. Apparently it has been in Bay Area Restaurants TOP 100 since they opened in 2005 and there's always a line for dinner.

And I completely understand why!!!
The food was so good !
^__^

Burrata w/ arugula, roasted beets, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, & acme batard crostini

The beets were so good, I think they were the best beets I've ever eaten. I could have eaten a plate full of them! haha. They were so sweet & yummyyy ;)

Margherita Pizza w/ tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella, parmesan, & de padova extra virgin olive oil

This was also really good :D

Specialized Pizza w/ hobbs' pepperoni, house made sausage, tomato sauce, mozzarella, & basil

There was also sea salt (could have done without it as some parts of the pizza were a little over whelming with saltiness from the pepperoni & sausage), but regardless it was delicious!

& Dessert

Vanilla Soft Serve w/ extra virgin olive oil & sea salt

This was... interesting! ahaha

We had to order it because this was just one of Pizzeria Picco's must try items.

(with the exception of some of the sea salt flakes being a little big) the salty, olive oily, creamy vanilla-ly bowl of goodness was pretty good! Lol.

& it was the best vanilla soft serve that I've ever had before.

It's organic & comes locally from the Straus Family Creamery :)

Yup, so that was dinner! ^__^

& Aylwin's treat ;) such an unexpected treat [does that sound weird? lol w/e]

For more food posts check out - http://omnomnom-food.blogspot.com/

I'll be updating that blog more often :)

Until next time, Ciao!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone !! <3

♥,

Dana

Webcamming

2011-09-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

I was "phoneless" for more than a week up until this past Tuesday

& I really didn't have any way to communicate to my little sister Tracy other than online through facebook. So it made it difficult for her to tell me stories of how her day went and stuff like that.

SOOOO.....

Tracy & I started webcamming for the first time!

I don't know why we didn't do this sooner!!

It's so much nicer to be able to see her and chat with her, than just talking on the phone.

And being silly & joking around is so much more fun via webcam too!!
hahahha ;D

There's a story behind this one...

Me: "why is your face so close to the camera?"
Tracy: "so that I could be closer to you! :)"

Me: "Awww okay! ;D [*gets closer to camera*]"

Gotta love her <3

♥,

Dana

Mammoth ~ Day 3 & 4

2011-08-26T03:29:00.001-07:00

Day 3 :

The family woke up at 5:00 am to go fishing

& it was really cold...

&& early. lol

Sadly, unlike the day before, we hardly caught anything :(
For some reason the fish just weren't biting the way they were the previous day
Dad & I each caught one, but that was it.

Oh well, I guess that's how fishing goes, some days it's great & some just aren't so good. Maybe I just got really lucky the day before when I was with my Uncle Dean.

Later that day we went hiking up Panorama Dome

& on the way up, we found a patch of snow!!
^__^

There was so much snowfall this past winter that there's still snow in some areas up in Mammoth this late in the summer! Even though snow is really hard (might as well call it ice, lol) and ugly, it's exciting for Tracy & I because we've never been up to the snow before :D haha

Top of Panorama Dome :]

LOL, Tracy!

It was quite windy!! XD

Every time I see this picture I can't help but smile :)
I feel so lucky to have such a great family!!

♥

Day 4 :

Started with a couple mile hike up to Skelton Lake.
And spent the day fishing, relaxing, & just enjoying the beautiful scenery :)

Doesn't it look like something from a computer screen saver!?

My little fishy xD haha

Because of the hike being a couple of miles & uphill, there are hardly any other people up there fishing. I guess lots of people find it a hassle to lug all their fishing gear, poles, and what not up on a hike just to get to a lake.

It was almost as if we had the whole lake to ourselves ;)

We didn't have any rude people fishing right next to us.
Or loud kids throwing rocks into the water.
It was just so nice & peaceful :)

Our fish! ^__^

These fish are much smaller than the ones you saw in the previous posts
These are brook trout and the others were rainbow trout.

Look what we found on our hike back down to the car!?

another ugly patch of snow! hahah

The brooks are a lot tastier to eat verses the rainbow trout

We just bread & fry them up!

*yummmmmyyyyyy*

^_~

There are still a few more days left to our vacation that you all still have to see! hahaha.
Maybe I won't post every day & only post the highlights. lol

♥,

Dana

Mammoth ~ Day 2

2011-08-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

Fishing with my Uncle Dean! :D

I woke up at 5:00 am to go fishing!

We began catching fish right away

More fish

& more fish

&& MORE fish! haha

Even though I know I look completely goofy I like fishing with a fishing vest because I could fit a bunch of stuff in it:
fishing gear (hooks, sinkers, bait, etc), camera, first-aid stuff, chap stick, cell phone, emergency stuff (whistle, pepper spray, knife, etc), towel, water bottles, ...you get the point. lol

Uncle Dean's BIG one!

My BIG ONE! ^__^

We hit our limit of 5 each = 10 rainbow trout !

Driving...

Twin Lakes

Sister & I

♥

My family took it pretty easy on Day 2 also.
Just a little fishing.

But Day 3 we did some morning fishing & went hiking up Panorama Dome

♥,
Dana

Mammoth ~ Day 1

2011-08-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody ! :D

I sort of disappeared for a week, Oops!

Well it was because school just started this past Monday
& we had a test on the first day! *yuck*

Luckily I passed with 100% ^_^

So I was studying & getting some reading done.

Well, let me fill you all in on my Vacation to Mammoth!

It about a 6 hour drive up from where my family lives

Dad picked up Porto's for us! ;D

*yummyyyyyy*

The Highlander was absolutely PACKED!

Even the space between Tracy & I had bags and stuff. lol

Barely any leg room! hahaha

Makes me glad to be short & have tiny legs, ahah. And I like siting with my legs up on the seat anyways, so it wasn't a problem for me :)

The reason why we bring so much stuff is because we don't go out to dinner or anything like that when we're up there. We rent a condo & cook all of our meals - meaning we bring all our food up with us!
And we also all have clothes for a week, fishing & hiking gear, etc.

It's a long, boring ol' drive.

View from my window as we drive, hahah.

Bet you've never seen a squashed bug like this on your windshield before?!
LOL, poor dragonfly *rip*

Daddy!! ^__^

Now onto our condo :)

There are actually 3 stories
2 floors + a loft

Living room

A little nook area

The loft

Master bedroom

2nd bedroom

& tennis courts outside

Too bad none of us play tennis :-p lol

Usually the first day we get up there we take it easy.
Not only because of the long drive, but mainly because of the elevation
If you exert yourself too much, you can experience Altitude Sickness since Mammoth Lakes is about an elevation of 8,000 ft

Just outside our condo there is a meadow

So we just went for a little walk :)

Tracy & I

It's it just beautiful!?

There is definitely MUCH MORE for you all to see!

This is only Day 1, haha.

♥,

Dana

Friends & Friendship

2011-08-16T01:42:00.000-07:00

I think we've all heard this before:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails
1 Corinthians 13:4

Well I have my own version...

Friendship is patient, friendship is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no records of wrong.
Friendship does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres.
True friendship never fails
♥

I am so eternally grateful to have some absolutely AMAZING friends.
True friends who have been there for me through the thick and thin.

Those friends that you know will always be there for you,
no matter how much time has passed or distance is between you.

Sure we've all got a lot of "friends," but right now I'm talking about

those sincerely special ones.
The friends who are seriously just irreplaceable.

The ones where, when you think about words to describe them, are indescribable.

There are so many ways I could say how I feel,

but as of right now, all I can think about is how I feel absolutely blessed

" Nothing, but heaven itself, is better than a friend who is really a friend "

" A friend is someone who understands your past,

believes in your future,

and accepts you just the way you are "

Thanks to my amazingly wonderful family & friends,
this summer has been, HANDS DOWN, the BEST summer I have ever had.

I just keep counting my blessings
& thanking God for the incredible life He has given me <3

♥,
Dana

Fishing

2011-08-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

Every summer as a family we go to Mammoth

for some fishing & hiking !

Here's one of the highlights of the trip ^__^

BIGGEST fish I've ever caught!!

More about my vacay soon! :D

♥,

Dana

Clubbing In Vegas

2011-08-07T00:33:00.000-07:00

The "Cousin Trip" that I blogged about in my last post...

AWESOME !

I had such great time with them :D

Here are some picture of the night we went clubbing at XS Nightclub @ Encore

The 3 female cousins ;)
[ Val, me, Kacey ]

I can't believe how short I still look with 5-6 inch heels on! Lol

The 4th, & only male, cousin! ^__^ Kyle!

Kacey & her bf Scott

Val & her bf Taka

Kyle & I both flew solo, but it's okay :) haha
We kept each other company when the other couples went off gambling and stuff

The "men" as they liked to be called! LOL

Once we got to Encore,

we took a BUNCH of pictures while waiting for our club promoter ;)

Group Picture before heading in! :)

Inside XS
(I should have taken a picture of the outside)

Drinks inside the club were SUPER expensive!!!
A round of AMF's (the drink above) costed $88 !

Definitely would recommend for anyone going clubbing in Vegas,
pre-drink at the casino, a bar, or even in your rooms, lol.

But I will say the drinks I had (AMF & a Long Island) were both really good.
they better be with paying so much $$ !! haha

& I didn't know who Calvin Harris was (I had to google him), but confetti fell from the ceiling & people were getting really excited for him. Must be someone cool/famous DJing that night. lol

We all had such a great time that we're thinking of making an
Annual Cousin Vegas Trip !
^__^

PS - I'm currently on another vacation ;)
so responses/posts will be delayed for at least the next week

<3 ya all, talk to you soon ;D

♥,
Dana

Vegas Bound

2011-07-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

"Cousin Trip"

Leaving with them for a few days!
Mini Vaca

Hopefully we don't end up losing someone during our "drunken misadventures"
& end up with a missing tooth or a face tattoo !
AHAHHAHA, jk :)

Be back Wednesday!!
^__^

♥,
Dana

Catching up over Brunch

2011-07-29T02:43:00.000-07:00

Washington Square in SF is so beautiful ! :)

Jaclyn & I
I can't believe I hadn't seen her in almost 2 years >__<
I guess we both just got so busy, time flew by
We definitely had a LOT to catch up on !

We had brunch at Mama's {..yelp..}

which is in Washington Square (same block as the church, on the corner)

We met up for brunch at the busiest time possible.
On a Saturday around 11:00 am - so the wait was pretty long. I'd say it was about 2 hours. But I'm not complaining, we had so much to chat about, the wait didn't seem too bad

It's a relatively small place, that's why the wait gets so long, but the food is definitely worth it! Obviously, or else the long lines of people wouldn't keep happening every weekend! lol

Look at the delicious looking breads :D They use them for their French Toast too !

When you finally get inside after waiting outside, you get into another line.
The second line is right in front of their kitchen area :) Pretty fun to see them cooking & seeing all the yummy food they plate up.
At Mama's you order before sitting down & then they bring your food to your table.

The two of us split the food :) I prefer eating that way
Sharing seems so much better, this way I get to try two (or sometimes 3 if I'm with Aylwin, lol) different dishes instead of only one, hahaha ;D

Swedish Cinnamon French Toast w/ fresh berries

Dungeness Crab Eggs Benedict

Both dishes were absolutely GREAT !
^__^
Definitely worth the wait !

The poached eggs in the benedict were cooked PERFECTLY!!
as soon as I poked it with my fork, the bright yellow yoke just spilled out beautifully all over the rest of my benedict.

The bread they used for the french toast made it so good.
And the berries were really fresh & sweet ;) *yummy*

After brunch we went to get our nails done :]

We were both in need of a mani & pedi

I'm the one with the pink nails & Jaclyn the coral.
Summer colors! ^___^

♥,

Dana

Been Around, but Not Really

2011-07-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

You're probably thinking,

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Well even though I've been blogging, I haven't really been around Blogger lately...

The past 4 posts...

I put them all together at the same time in one day & just scheduled the posts

I finished summer school on the 15th & was hanging around doing my thing for awhile.
&& now I'm back in SoCal with the fam for a few weeks :)

Just got back yesterday.

But what was I doing while I was "doing my thing" ?

Finally really cleaned up my apartment

Scrapbooking

Packing

Catching up with friends

Helping Aylwin move/get settled into his new place

& spending time in the SF area ! :)

Everyone, meet Jaclyn! ^__^

High school friend that I hadnt' seen in a couple years!
It was so nice to spend the day with her & just catch up :)

We met for brunch

& got our nails done after [were both wayyyy overdue for a mani/pedi]

a post will come soon :)

And of course, you all know this guy! lol

We've sort of been hanging out a lot lately.

I love spending my time in the City so much better than being suck at home in cow town.

There's just so much more to do where he is..

The weather is MUCH cooler, rather than being stuck in 100°+ heat..

And I do love his company too :)

Starting in the beginning of July, we began moving into his new apartment from San Francisco to San Rafael. He moved because of the new job he got [mentioned it in the beginning of this post] But besides helping him move, I've been helping him settle into his new place (organizing, cleaning, being home while he's at work when the internet guy comes by, etc)

Anyways, that's what I've been up to.

Now it's time for some family time.

♥,

Dana

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

2011-07-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Lots of traffic

but likely also due to the fact that it was a Saturday

Remember:
ALL PHOTO CREDITS go to {my little sister} Tracy ! :]

This picture looks like it could circulate on Tumblr or something

It's not the nicest beach (I was actually surprised at how dirty it looked)

but I understand why it's such a popular area.

Boardwalk has rides & games & all that fun stuff :)

Tracy's first picture on train tracks, lol

Sushi for dinner ^__^

The middle roll was the best :D

The next morning (Sunday) we headed up towards Sacramento.

We wanted to take Tracy to be able to check out

California State University, Sacramento

On the way up, while we were passing some corn fields, we saw a stand selling some!!
12 corn for $2 !

♥,

Dana