Nala's getting in the Christmas spirit too!

yup, this is what i do when i go home.
my pup's a natural model.

just keep swimming

Julian: “And in all of this…how much time do you take to count the pros?”

Even in challenging times, I suppose it’s our human nature to direct our focus on the negative factors that drag us down. Shake your fist, curse the world, kick the ground, slam the door, take out all possible frustration on others. Fortunately, I can now cling to my revived faith to keep me moving, to be patient with how events play out, to “trust that there's a light at the end of this dark dark tunnel”.

I am increasingly grateful for the incredible support systems of family, friends, teammates, roomies, co-workers, boyfriend and most importantly God, the creator of all good things in life. Many many many thanks to these awesome people for keeping me grounded and pushing me forward, my roots and my wings.

A special kudos to the b-friend for being there, for understanding that it’s okay to just listen and for always redirecting me to Him at those times where I want to stray away. I’m really thankful for you jurr. I really do think you have no idea.

project pancho playtime

thank God for hometown friends. they're so silly.
other things to be thankful for: catching up, inside jokes, ugly dances, middle/high school pictures, reminiscing, laughter, life...and random props in a garage.

giving thanks (home-style)

on thanksgiving evening, the family came together for some good ol' grubbin with the annual holiday feast. we stuffed our bellies with the (somewhat) home-cooked meal, enjoying each other's company as we immersed ourselves in the music provided by my cousin, jazzmine (youtube her!). i love the holiday season for so many reasons. i just love being around the people i love (and hey, i admit the yummy food's a plus too). i thank God for allowing my family to be together for another round of holidays. i hope that during the hype of excessive spending and overeating, i never forget to genuinely give thanks to God for providing us with so many blessings now and always.

^ mama's prime seating.

^ at our best.

^ the usual entertainment.

^ the future mr. and mrs. anda (feb. 21, 2009)

^ what keeps me going.

GIVE THANKS FOR EVERYTHING EVERY DAY.

giving thanks (198-style).

the two ladies and two gents of 198 crowded the kitchen and pulled together another successful (and pretty last-minute) dinner party to celebrate thanksgiving with friendsies and food! our lovely friends contributed to an appetizing menu of everything from a fatty turkey to stuffing to sausages to veggies to mashed potatoes to...fried rice?! not to mention a perfect dessert duo of pumpkin pie and lemon something something that topped off the night. with hours of gluttony, lively conversation and many rounds of rock band, the night included many things to be thankful for.

^ my usual specialty.

^ the buffet.
^ some of the hungry guests (pre-food coma).

^ my food reflected my mood.

^ fulfilled.^ special visitors, favorites reunite!

my roommates are absolutely amazing.
this living sitch has definitely impacted my college experience in ways i am so grateful for. coming home to these crazy cats after a stressfully long day is always a blessing. here's to the last year of idle lounging, late-night bonding, constant eating, rock band playing, joke-making and every other thing-ing in our cozy two-bedroom abode.

huge.

wonderfully great things are coming soon!!

ah, the future. God's plan.

be thankful every day.

Romans 8:28.

the future in the present

This weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to reunite with my lovely lady friends over a home-cooked meal and lively conversation. Our scrumptious meal included delicious penne pasta with chicken and alfredo sauce, tasty garlic bread, good ol’ fried chicken, snazzy calamari…all leading up to the brownie a la mode + whipped cream finale!

^ the prep

^ the final product

^ the grubbin'

And leave it to miss ocampo to prepare some kind of fun-filled activity. This time around it was a “time capsule questionnaire” to be returned to us at our 10-year high school reunion in 2015 [yikes!]. To me, the future is so intriguing, so putting my personal life goals on paper was an exciting task. Hearing the others’ hopes and dreams was also quite an amusing event.

Some of the questions included…

I am currently in a relationship with…

After graduating, I will be…

In 10 years, I see myself …

I will be working as a...

I will be living in…

I am going to marry…

I will have ____ kids.

3 things I want to do before I die…

I want to be remembered as…

That night we even busted out our senior year high school yearbook and shared updates about people in our class [mostly discovered via facebook]. Some married, plenty with kids, odd jobs, new lifestyles. It’s crazy how much has changed in just 3 years. I can’t even imagine the surprises we’ll encounter at our actual 10-year reunion.

As for the eight of us…finishing up our undergrad, applying for grad school, fashion school, nursing school, dentistry school, more traveling, 3-year old daughter, freshly married with a new baby! I’m so proud of this group of maturing young women, so ambitious and lively.

Whether it’s about school, work or relationships, it’s always a joyous event to discover what’s new and different in their lives. Our weekend mini-reunions are always delightful occasions, catching up and seeing where life has taken these lovelies. Coming home to these people really makes my heart happy.
I hope you ladies really know how much I love you all.

A million thanks to miss stephanie anne for planning and miss arra for hosting the successful night! I can’t wait for the next one.

undeserving

Lately I’ve been feeling slightly detached. Call me naïve, but something inside me wants to attribute this odd feeling to the change in my lifestyle. In my heart, I know that this was a healthy transition. My life has never had so much purpose. I strive to acknowledge Him in all the struggles and blessings throughout the day. I loosened my grip on a self-centered, worldly life of sin and returned to my faith. I can’t help but recognize the correlation to the slipping of friendships as I’ve continued on my spiritual walk. Although I attempt to maintain these relationships, I’m sure people look at me differently, approach our friendship differently, maybe even show new signs of disinterest for reading this blog.

It becomes a slight challenge to interact with people I was close with pre-transformation, an internal conflict of who knows what. It makes my heart ache a little that sometimes I can’t even stir up some small talk. My beliefs and morals constantly challenged by the majority. Often times I smile and nod, conforming to the flow of conversations. I know the mutual love remains, the friendship is still strong I’m sure, but I often get these peculiar knots in my stomach that they see me as a completely different person...and a completely different person I am not. Close friends are now people I rarely talk to, but sometimes I just want to scream, “HEY, my life may be moving in a completely different direction now, but my love for you is still here, probably even more so now than it was several months ago”. On the other hand, I greatly appreciate the true friendsies who remain encouraging and loving despite the changes. You guys have no idea how much your support means to me.

Now, it is NOT my intention to devalue your way of life if it does not exactly parallel mine. I stand firm to my beliefs, but I am NOT here to judge or condemn my friends for what they do. Please understand that...at least try.

I think this is His way of challenging me to understand what is really important. I think He has done quite a good job of directing me towards healthy relationships, which in turn direct me to a healthy lifestyle. As always, He’s been good to me. Though I’ve had to let go of many things, He’s blessed me with others even greater and better…things I know I do not deserve. God’s grace really is amazing. It has caused me to think more critically and to instantly trust Him through the goods and not-so-goods of life. And for this, I am forever grateful.

swipe me in

Besides the occasional swipes into b-wine, another perk of being a spop staffer is the opportunity to somewhat relive that splendid first year experience through your spoppers. I’ve enjoyed several lunch dates/mini-spop reunions in the past couple of weeks. The conversation is typically initiated by the question “so how’s your first year going?” Their responses involving 12 units, dorm life, frequent naps, hum. core, etc. immediately set me into nostalgia mode. My usual response is something like, “oh man, I remember my first year…”. Most of the time I have to stop myself in fear of sounding like some old lady about to reminisce about the good ol' days…because as wild and crazy of a kid I was in my earlier college years, I’d have to say my personal growth in this last year has launched me into an unbelievable high.

When I staffed purple year, I was only a year older than my spoppers. I was fresh off the fun-filled first year boat, barely able to offer advice. I can only hope I can be a more reliable source of mentorship to this lively bunch of kids now that I've established myself in the last three years here. I want to tell them so much…that college goes by way too fast…that stress is temporary and often unnecessary… to take your time…that it’s okay to extend your stay at uci past the usual four years…to explore… to get involved…to take chances…to push yourself…to stand alone… that change is okay...to laugh at yourself…to acknowledge your blessings…to soak up what is being taught in class…to soak up what is being taught through friends and strangers…to take that opportunity to inspire…to pay it forward...to preserve your personal values, but also leave some wiggle room…to find what you’re passionate about…to reach out…to not compromise yourself for the sake of conformity… to love what you do… to understand that you’re exactly where you should be.

But I bite my tongue...at least until another time. I believe they all have potential to do amazingly magnificent things whether or not I drop knowledge. I’m just so proud of all of my spoppers and fellow staffers from purple to gold. You all really have impacted my life.

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On a rather ironic note, I did not apply for spop coord.
I have my reasons. If you’re still curious, just ask me.

Who knows...maybe there's another route
to giving back to the program in store for me...

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i love MCIA.
fourth year on the team and it just keeps getting sweeter.

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happy birthday ninong ezer. we love you!
please continue to watch over our family.