Leelou Blogs

Finally, I have found a blog template I like! This one's from Leelou Blogs. There are lots of cute, free templates for two- and three- column blogs under the "Freebies" tab at the top :) Not sure how to install a template? Look for easy instructions below each template. Here's what I did:

1. Download the file from Leelou Blogs
2. Open it (it should open in the Notepad app)
3. Copy the HTML code
4. In Blogger, go to "Template"
5. Click "Edit HTML"
6. Erase any existing HTML codes and paste the new one
7. Hit "Save"

-- If you are happy with the fonts and colors, you are done! If not, continue on to the next few steps:

8. On the "Template" page, click on "Customize"
9. On the left, you should find: Template, Background, Adjust Widths, Layout, and Advanced
10. Under "Advanced," you can change the fonts and colors on your new blog template! :)
11. After adjusting everything to your liking, hit the orange "Apply to blog" button on the top right-hand corner

And there you have it :) What do you think of my new template?

Internet Problems

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been posting lately! Our internet stopped working on Tuesday, I think, and it still hasn't been resolved yet :( Currently, I'm "borrowing" our friend's internet because they live just upstairs. I can't do much though; it's so slow! It's hard to get good connection since it is outside of our apartment. I've been playing Plants vs. Zombies on my laptop to pass the time away. It's also been raining non-stop since last night! I do not want to go out if it's raining, especially since the restaurants and stores are about a mile away :(

Stay dry and check back in a few more days! We're hoping the internet will be fixed by then and I'll be sure to post more :)

<3

Happy Wednesday!

December is almost here! That means endless studying for finals, walking through cold rain, and sharing germs with my sick classmates. But most importantly, December means hot chocolate, hot showers, a warm + cuddly bed, and Christmas! These next few weeks will most likely be busy; last assignments of the semester, final exams, and going home for winter break (which is one whole month!). I can't wait to be away from bedbugs... I'm getting less bites, but they are still here. Or if they're not bedbugs, I don't know what they are. Scary.

---

Okay, so that little bit above the dashed lines was written yesterday. Our internet stopped working around 4 pm. I'm really sorry! I know, I tend to do Tuesday posts often. One of my roommates (the one that's never here, lol) paid the Comcast bill late. I don't remember what I planned for yesterday's post... Normally, I write whatever's on my mind. 

Yesterday was actually a big blur. I came home and napped, ate dinner, and then from 8 pm to 1 am, I scrambled together an essay of six to seven pages. I'm running on about five hours of sleep right now. In high school, I wrote a ten page paper - the night before it was due. Never again. I fell asleep around 5 am that time. It was terrible! 

Today's weather was crazy! Windy, rainy, and just plain freezing. The sun came out about an hour ago and I'm so glad it did or I would have had to walk home drenched in more rain. 

Stay warm and dry :)

Mission Accomplished

Remember my November goal? Well, I reached it sometime today! Thank you all very much! <3 Basically, my monthly goal is to reach more pageviews than previous month. November was cutting it close. I was behind 200 views just a couple days ago and was afraid I wouldn't reach my personal blog goal this time. How did I do it? Easy.

First, I created a post asking for help. I explained my goal and Lainey (my first follower and now my good friend) recommended my blog to her friends! A very special thank you for Lainey <3 I love her beauty blog; she reviews a lot of products I either have used or is interested in using. Lainey is also really nice and gives great tips! <3

Second, I use Google+. A lot. The past few days, I've been clicking the "share" button like crazy. It shares the post to any Google+ users. Yes, you have to click the button for every single post, but I find that it helps a bit :) You can do this by clicking "Posts" on the left-hand side. You should find a list of all the blog posts you've created. Hover over the post you would like to share and the share button should pop up. This will only work if your blog is linked to Google+ and if you are using Blogger (which is powered by Google).

Those two are the main reasons in helping me reach my goal. Other tips include: commenting on other blogs + providing a link back to my blog, following new blogs, and simply blogging more!

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving break. I will be heading back to my apartment tomorrow, first thing in the morning :( I had a great time at home, but I shall be home again in a few weeks after finals! Try out my tips and let me know which ones worked for you, which ones didn't, or what other strategies you use :)

Happy Thanksgiving + Black Friday

I had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. We had creamed corn (my fave!), roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, honey ham (my other fave!), oven baked chicken, green beans, brussel sprouts, and beans. I think that's all we made. We had about 13 to 15 people, all crammed into my cousin's small condo. It was everyone on my dad's side, minus a few cousins. Dinner was delicious as always and I came back home last night! I haven't been home since Labor Day and it feels weird to be here.

After I came home for about half an hour, I left and went Black Friday shopping for the first time with Jon! I left around 10:30 and came back at 3 am. I don't know if I would recommend the mall for Black Friday shopping. It was crowded and really hot. Imagine like it was Disneyland after the fireworks show and you're trying to leave the park without losing your family or friends. Surprisingly, I didn't buy anything. I really wanted a new pair of boots. In the Macy's advertisement, I saw a pair on sale for $20! I searched Macy's shoe section and only found the $100+ boots :( Jon did buy a few sweatshirts from American Eagle and Aeropostale. Both times, we had to wait in line for about 20 minutes. At Macy's, I also looked at Clinique's products because I've been wanting to buy their acne skincare line. Unfortunately, they weren't on sale, so I didn't buy the set :( After looking through shoes and the beauty section of Macy's, Jon wanted to go look at purses and wallets. I've been bugging him because he never buys me anything and I buy him a lot of things on his mental wishlist. He knows I've been looking at Fossil brand wallets, so we went to hunt for some. I didn't see any Fossil brand wallets, but Jon found this really cute gray Giani Bernini wallet with lots of pockets and it's perfect. I'm glad he has good taste :P He ended up buying the wallet and saying it was my late birthday present. I've never had a new wallet before (mine were all hand-me-downs), so it was kinda exciting.

At least the mall wasn't too chaotic. It was rather funny to see people run around and it was funny when the escalator beeped and stopped working because there was too many people on it! Other than the crowded mall, hot temperature, and the smell of weed everywhere I turn, Black Friday shopping wasn't that bad. I wouldn't mind going to the mall again, if I can actually find things for myself.

I woke up at 9 am this morning (6 hours of sleep isn't too bad. I just took a nap 2 hours ago, hehe) and roamed around the house for a while until noon. Jon came to pick me up for lunch and we went to Mikuni's, a Japanese restaurant we like to go to. We got the lunch bento boxes, as usual, and ordered two orders of Flaming Shrooms this time. Those are really good. They are white mushrooms stuffed with imitation crab meat and a jalapeno, which are then deep-fried and topped with a yummy sauce. The Flaming Shrooms are Jon's favorite and we get them almost every time we go to Mikuni's. 

Happy Tuesday!

I am sitting in my cousin's living room right now! I finally got my pizza and now I'm just relaxing and watching TV :) Today was a pretty hectic day. I had a test first thing in the morning and it was actually harder than previous tests.

-- Okay, I just took a minute and checked online to see if my test was graded. I got a 88%, missing only three points. We had three previous tests before and I missed only one point on each one of them. One missed point means 96%.

After my communications test, I had English class. While I was waiting for the clock to hit 10:30, I added my spring semester classes to my online shopping cart. Good thing we got out of English early. I was scheduled to be part of an experiment at 12.

The experiment was for psychology and it was... terrifying. I was stuck in a little room by myself most of the time either spitting into a plastic tube (saliva samples) or filling out questionnaires. I had to fill five containers with spit and it took a while because my mouth was so dry! The terrifying part was actually being told to give a speech in front of three people in lab coats. A girl was in the room already and when she came out, she looked like she was about to cry. I went on to the five-minute speech and ran out of things to say halfway. The people in lab coats were so scary. Every time I paused, they would stare me down. No facial expressions, no sign of welcoming me there. After the speech, I had to count backwards from 2083, subtracting 13 each time. I walked out of the building upset, scared, and wanting to just curl up in a ball so no one could see me :( Worst thing ever.

Right after that, I found a place to sit outside so I could actually enroll in my classes. I did get all the classes I wanted, but I still have room for more. The only reason I'm not adding any more classes is because the times conflict with one another :( I guess aerobics will have to wait.

Time to get ready for bed! Goodnight :)

Pre-Thanksgiving Plans

Only three days left before Thanksgiving! I love good food. I mean, who doesn't? Every year, my family and I spend Thanksgiving at my cousin's house (which isn't too far from where I currently live, yay!) and I help her cook. Last year, I took the Cal Train up to her place and slept over for the weekend. This year, I was planning to take the same route, but my cousin happens to be in San Diego right now. She is driving back up tomorrow and, is most likely, going to pick me up along the way! That means I get to spend some more time with her baby! I will post more pictures, I promise. This year also happens to be a very big deal because everyone is invited to Thanksgiving dinner. Usually, there's only about ten of us. This time, there will be close to fifteen. I'm still wondering how everyone's going to fit in my cousin's small condo. Unlike some lucky people, I do not get the whole week off for Thanksgiving :( In fact, I only get Thursday and Friday off! This weekend will be busy, for sure. After the big dinner, I'm planning to hitch a ride with my parents and go home for the rest of the weekend. I haven't seen my boyfriend in over a month. Plus, he's going to take me shopping! :)

More interesting (hopefully, it's interesting) updates later!

<3

Goal Before End of November

One more post before I go to bed! I have been tracking my monthly pageviews and would like to say "Wow!" :) Improvement, motivation, dedication. That's all it takes. I created this blog near the end of July and look where I am now!

July 2012 - 15 pageviews

August - 117

September - 472

October - 723

Notice how I surpass the previous month with even more views? I have a little less than two more weeks and I need to beat October with 200 more pageviews! I have about 530 for November right now, as I am typing. 

My personal goal is to beat the previous month's pageviews. It means I am improving every single month and that's a great feeling. 

What are your blog goals?

Spiders + Lavender?

Much more. And at a faster rate. But this time, they're different from those nasty bedbug bites. For the past week, I have been getting lots of new bites and I have been scratching my upper arms nonstop. I want to say they are spider bites because they are pretty common and I only notice new bites when I wake up. These recent bites are extremely irritating and itchy, but they fade after two or three days. Last night, I did some research on spider bites. I'm really glad I know my bites do not come from poisonous critters at least, or else I could be vomiting or laying in bed with a fever. No good, since I just got better from my little cold or flu. I did not want to buy a bug spray or anything of the sort because I don't want to sleep in chemicals! Or breathe it. I then started to look for more natural ways to repel spiders. Hopefully my problem is spiders. Otherwise, I have no idea what else could be biting me.

Some people claimed spiders do not like the scent of citrus, chestnuts, or lavender. I don't have any citrus-y scented products and I would just eat the chestnuts, haha. I did find some lavender stuff! I found a candle, an air freshener, and my roommate lent me her lavender lotion. I personally cannot smell the lavender too much. It makes my head hurt, but I desperately need to get rid of any living creature in my apartment if they are not part of the human species. An exception will be made for my basil and forget-me-nots, tehe.

I put the candle and air freshener near my pillow and rubbed the lavender lotion on my ankles and neck area to prevent spiders from attacking my two most vulnerable spots. So far, it's my upper arms that are scarred with dozens of bites. I really do hope spiders despise lavender as much as I do. And it better be spiders. I can't think of any other bugs that like to feed on sleeping humans.

Goodnight! Have a fantastic Monday :)

Review: Freeman Feeling Beautiful Masks

Hey there! I hope you're all warm and dry :) It's been rainy here, which gives me an excuse to lay in bed all day, tehe. I'm getting over my cold or flu, whichever it is. I didn't get a bad fever. Just stuffy + runny nose, a major headache that lasted about two days, and a change in my voice. It's almost all gone :) I didn't take medicine because I didn't feel the need to. I wasn't terribly sick like last school year. Yikes. I practically slept the whole day, wore like three layers, and sweated everything out. It was terrible. I had the cough, the shivers, and a massive headache. And that was around the time when my then-roommate and I went through a rough patch and didn't talk at all, despite our beds were only about five feet apart. 

FACIAL MASKS. I love facial masks. When I'm feeling creative, I like to make my own in the kitchen, but often times, I don't have all the ingredients. Or the time. Buying masks is more convenient and they last longer than homemade ones. 

On the left is Freeman's Cucumber Peel-Off Mask. I bought this for around $5 on Amazon.com last year and I absolutely love it. 6 ounces can last a while. I use this mask once every two weeks or so: I squeeze about a quarter-size onto my palm and spread a consistent layer on my face. Try to avoid your eyebrows because it will become really stick and hard to wash out, haha. Then I wait until the whole masks dries, which takes about 15 minutes, depending how much I put on. Peeling the mask off is the fun part! My roommate has the same mask, but she leaves it on for about an hour and when it comes to peel-off time, it hurts. So, I do not recommend leaving the mask on for too long. What I love about this mask is how soft my skin gets after I peel off the cucumber goodness. I then finish up by rinsing my face and applying moisturizer. I have a couple uses left in the bottle and will definitely buy this again. I've seen all the Freeman masks on Ulta.com for about $3.99, but I'm not sure if it's also in-stores. 

Moving on to the Avocado and Oatmeal Clay Mask also from Freeman. I received this as a birthday present from one of the roommates because she knows I love the cucumber peel-off. Unfortunately, I don't think I can say the same about this clay mask. It smells pretty good and has a really smooth texture, but the aftermath for me is not so pretty. The mask also takes about 15 minutes to dry and isn't too hard to wash off, but I find new pimples the next day. The big, painful ones. I've used the mask about 3 times and it might just be a coincidence. I doubt that is the case though. I use the same skincare products and eat the same semi-healthy foods. Nothing changes until I use this clay mask. I am not saying this mask is terrible; in fact, it works wonders for many, but it's not right for me. I have normal to dry skin, so I think that could be a factor since I heard clay masks are great for oily skin. After the third use, I concluded this mask isn't for me and since then, my skin has slowly cleared up. I feel really bad because this was a gift and I barely used it! I won't purchase this clay mask again, but that isn't discouraging me from buying other Freeman masks! 

My ultimate favorite is the Alba Botanica Papaya Enzyme Facial Mask. It's amazinggg! Oh, what I would give for a whole closet of this stuff... Just kidding! I rather have a whole closet filled with... PIZZA. Mushrooms, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese. Yummy!

A Not-So-Happy Thursday

I apologize for not posting as often; I got a slight fever yesterday and the sniffles took control over me. I sneezed so many times! Today, I'm better but my voice definitely changed and I'm so tired. I wish I can go home and sleep the rest of the afternoon away. I am skipping my 10:30 AM class (the class I absolutely HATE this semester) for a few good reasons:

• I am sick; I do not want to be stuck listening to his dreadful voice while I am battling some virus. 
• I have not done the past three assignments because, well, I've been feeling sick since last weekend and because I don't see how the assignments will benefit me in writing my next essay.
• I rather skip the class, go to the library (where I am right now), and do my Asian American Studies essay which is due tomorrow and I haven't started on it. Then I can go home and have my much-needed nap :)

New topic. I've been getting more bug bites! These are different than the bedbug bites I was getting though. These are bigger, firmer, and ITCHIER :( I think I have spider bites now. A lot of them. 12 itchy, red bumps along with my bedbug bites that I been keeping track of...

2 on my right leg

3 on my left leg

9 on my right arm

7 on my left arm

1 under my collarbone

3 on my jawline

I'm lucky the healed bites are slowly fading, but I just wish I would stop getting bitten. I want to know who keeps biting me, how to prevent it, how to treat it, etc. I don't understand why I'm the only one that's getting attacked. I've bought protective bed sheets (which has halted the bedbugs from sucking my precious blood), but now it's something different. I don't even see any bugs in my room! 

I have just been so unlucky this school year. Bad living situation, have to change my major, bedbug bites, now unknown bites, I'm sick, I got food poisoning for the first time, and now I have to deal with an extremely busy school schedule and what I should do for Thanksgiving because that is a whole new different story. Too complicated for me to even put into words.

I wish I have something positive to say here. Maybe I'll just end this post with hope. Things will always get better.

2 DIY Facial Masks for Acne

Hello bloggers! I got a lot of homework done earlier tonight and now I am just relaxing. The tickle in my throat is under control, for now. I really do hope it will not turn into something terrible... Anyways, I am still on my journey to achieving clear, acne-free skin. I found two simple, wallet-friendly facial masks to make!

Credits to leonsbeautytipsandsecrets.com, which is a great blog for skin, hair, and body care + more :) I stumbled across this blog over a year ago and it was lost in my bookmarks folder from my old laptop. I decided to click on said folder today and look what I found :)

Green Tea & Chocolate Antioxidant Facial Mask

• 1 Tbsp Matcha Tea Powder (or you can cut open a tea bag with powdered tea leaves!)
• 1 Tbsp Dark Cocoa Powder
• Enough honey to make a paste

* Mix together and apply the paste; rinse after 20 minutes.

Garlic and Oatmeal Scrub for Blackheads & Whiteheads

[Do this every day for 3 days straight!]

• 2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
• 1 Tbsp ground oatmeal
• 2-3 drops of fresh lemon juice
• Enough honey to make a paste

* Mix together and apply the paste

* Leave on for 2 minutes, then exfoliate for 1 min (circular motion)

* Rinse

Again, credits go to leonsbeautytipsandsecrets.com. I have not tried these masks yet because we do not have honey in our apartment! :( But I am very excited to test them out. I love facial masks, I love DIYs, I love using natural ingredients, and I love anything that could possibly rid my face of acne! 

Veteran's Day Weekend: Part 2

I've been sick + got lots of homework to do tonight, so here's a quick list of what I did this weekend!

- schedule classes for spring semester
- make red bean dessert with tapioca
- make plain porridge with dried scallops (my fave!)
- deep cleaned the bathroom and kitchen
- watched episodes of "Subguratory," "The Voice," and "Modern Family" on Hulu <3
- Tumblr, Tumblr, Tumblr (link me yours in the comments below!)
- lots of sleep!

Hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed the day off from school and/ or work :)

Veteran's Day Weekend: Part 1

My long weekend officially starts now! I had one class today (Asian American Studies) for 2 hours and 45 minutes, but it wasn't as bad today because I was talking to my boyfriend over instant messaging the whole time, hehe. Yay for big classrooms! Then we were let out ten minutes early. Since I am going through                 some difficulty with my major and what I should do in college, I went in for advising. It's great because it's free, they're very helpful, and you can go in as many times as you would like (as long as it's not too busy). The not so great aspect is sending me to the wrong building... There I was on one side of campus and being told I need to go elsewhere, which is on the opposite side. Fine, I can deal with that. I could use some exercising anyways. However, it took another step downhill when I'm standing in the right place, but there are no advisers on Fridays!

I did get some questions answered and took a whole bunch of flyers regarding the major I want to change into. I have decided I want to major in Health Science with a concentration in Health Administration Services. I like the health field; it's almost always guaranteed a job once you're out of college. My passion is art, but I don't want to do that for a living, it's hard to find a job, and it seldom pays out well. Besides, I rather scrapbook or crochet than paint and draw.

I came home to a package in the mail. It was the keyboard protector I ordered :) It's a thin, flexible rubbery protector that mimics the shape of my keys. Here's a picture with the protector covering half of my keyboard:

I bought the protector off Amazon for about $12. Not worth it, I know. But I couldn't find one like this for cheaper. It fits over my keys perfectly and the only complaint I have is that the edges aren't tucked in to prevent moving around. That's fine because my laptop itself doesn't have extra room on the edge of the keys.

Have a good Friday! :)

Failed Mashed Potatoes

I've never really had to cook for myself until this school year. Last year, I lived in the dorms and a meal plan in the Dining Commons was required. I admit, I miss dorm food sometimes. Unlimited Jamba Juice, hot chocolate, lemonades, mocha drinks, Italian sodas were my favorite drinks. The fountain drinks were great too; almost every popular soda brand you can think of. Occasionally, I got a little bit of soda, but I absolutely loved the grape juice. One day, I was pressing the button for orange juice at the juice fountain machine and it was empty. A guy walking by, holding a cup of grade juice, suggested that grade juice is even better. And it was. Ever since then, I drank a cup of grade juice a day. At the least.

This year, I decided to live off-campus; it saves me a ton of money, but requires weekly grocery store visits, picking out fruits and vegetables myself, and getting a Safeway card. Last weekend, my parents came to visit and brought me tons of snacks and food. My mom packed me three potatoes. What am I supposed to do with those?! Make mashed potatoes!

RULE #1: Wash, skin, and cut all your potatoes into similar shapes (I didn't)
RULE #2: Boil the potatoes until you can stick a fork into them effortlessly (I didn't)

After following those two very, very important rules, proceed to mashing the potatoes, adding milk or cream, butter, and any herbs of your choice. Why are those two rules super mega important? If potatoes aren't cooked all the way, consumption can lead to indigestion and bloating. Oops.

I had one big potato and two small ones, and without thinking, I dunked them in boiling water. While they were boiling, I was doing laundry and got tired of waiting for the potatoes to be done. I grabbed a wooden spoon and stabbed the potato a bit. It didn't go through (like it should, but I didn't learn that until later!). I didn't think anything of it. I was tired.

Earlier, right after classes, I went straight to grocery shopping and dragged a bag of food back to my apartment. One mile of walking, with one really heavy bag of food. Then I ate some yogurt and went straight to business. I got tired of waiting, so I just went right along to mashing the potatoes. Didn't care there was chunks. Later for dinner, I heated up the mashed potatoes and the chunks were crunchy! Still, didn't care too much to stop and spit out the chunks. Until I told my roommate. She said it was a very good idea to eat raw potatoes and that's when I sat there and thought "Oh."

I mean, I've never made mashed potatoes before. And vegetables can be eaten raw, right? Carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes can. Thirty minutes after eating, I started to feel the pain. It hurt and nothing seemed to help. I researched about eating raw potatoes and it turns out that consuming them raw makes it really hard for the stomach to digest. I found two very useful articles from Livestrong.com:

The Risks of Eating Raw Potatoes
What Vegetables Cannot Be Eaten Raw

I took a hot shower to soothe my stomach and rubbed Chinese medicated oil on (it mainly contains menthol). I love the way medicated oil feels when warmed up on my stomach. There are various types of Chinese medicated oils that help treat headaches, dizziness, stuffy noses, tummy problems, itchiness, and much more. Of course, it isn't perfect for everyone. I remember when I was little, I had a friend over and I applied some on my tummy. She wanted to try some and she did not like the warm feeling. I can't explain the feeling it leaves. Think about facial cleansers with menthol as an ingredient. It leaves your face tingly, but with Chinese medicated oil, it is much stronger. It's tingly, warm, and it sort of burns but it's a soothing burn that makes the pain go away. Kinda like cough drops. The feeling it leaves in your throat. WAIT, NO. The perfect example to describe Chinese medicated oil is Vick's Vapo Rub!

Anyways, I don't think I'll be cooking potatoes for a while. Maybe I should just stick with french fries! Yum. Remember to make sure your potatoes are cooking all the way. No exceptions, unless you want tummy problems so you can try the Chinese medicated oil? Just kidding :)

Got a mashed potato recipe to share? Leave me a comment below! Although, I will stay away from potatoes for a little while...

Easy Sock Bun: bebexo

Today, I received my hair donut in the mail! It is also known as a "hair sock." It's a round, flexible circular shape used to create a bun. Here's my first try:

Of course, mine turned out messy. But it was a cute kind of messy! Then I remembered I watched a hair tutorial using a hair donut on Youtube. Her username is "bebexo" and she's AMAZING. She has over 170 videos and I think they're all on hair. I haven't watched all her videos yet. She's simply gorgeous and so is her hair! 

Here's a few videos where she uses the hair donut:

Michelle Phan also did a tutorial on the hair donut/ hair sock, but I think I like bebexo's better! Don't get me wrong. I love Michelle Phan. I've watched all her videos, some more than once. However, I think bebexo is the hair tutorial queen. <3

For my second try, I skipped the braids and it's still messy, but I will just have to get used to it. Have you tried using the hair donut?

Visitors + Presents

I love Saturdays. I love knowing it's a relaxing day because there's no class the next day. I love using this day to get stuff done, like grocery shopping and having fun.

Today, my parents + brother and grandma visited! We went out for dim sum (same place I went to for my birthday couple weeks back). It's called Jade Cathay and it was the first dim sum restaurant I've tried in San Jose. Their food is hot and fresh. And really delicious! Service is about average. The place isn't too big. We had to wait about five minutes for a table. I think the only thing I would complain about is the price. It was pretty expensive, but maybe it's because everything in San Jose and the Bay Area is pricey. Especially apartments... We actually had a hard time finding Jade Cathay because our GPS couldn't locate it! Good thing I sort of know my way around San Jose :)

After dim sum, we went to Oakland! Groceries in Chinatown are half the price from what I pay at Safeway! For example, Napa cabbage was only 29 cents a pound. If only I didn't have so many veggies... My parents brought me over a month's worth of food. Maybe two months. This happens every single time. In Chinatown, my brother and I spent the first hour in a Hello Kitty store! I bought a bunch of gifts for my roommates' Christmas presents. I ended up buying a cute eraser set for me and Jon.

I spend way too much on that boy. I did his Christmas and birthday shopping already and it came to almost $90! I don't even think I'm finished... I've gotten Jon a bunch of presents before: a custom keychain, a bunny keychain (from a couple's set), a ceramic paper crane, a Yu-Gi-Oh card he wanted, white chocolate macadameia cookies. I handmade even more presents for him: origami picture frame, tons of silly drawings, a huge pile of handwritten letters, 23 origami cranes on a string (one for each day he was gone in Oklahoma). I already have our anniversary present ready! Well, it's still in the making ;) Less than three months to go until our first year!

Last night, I watched "James and the Giant Peach" on YouTube and the night before that, I watched "Sweet Home Alabama" which is one of my favorite movies of all times. I love full length films on YouTube :)