awards & back-to-school

the first day of school today was pretty good even though i was dreading it. my classes for this semester are:

sociology of the family

sociological research & lab

mentoring for sociology

perspectives on leisure writing intensive

so far i have only had the first two classes. sociology of the family seems like it's going to be really interesting & fun. sociological research & lab is going to be hard but good & i like the professor (she taught my sociology of film class this summer). to save money, i moved back home & will be taking the train & a bus to school this semester instead of living right by the university like i did last school year. lots of traveling!

i recently received two blog awards! this first one is from amy of my pointe of view. the second on is from nicola of inside the cabinet of wonder. thanks amy & nicola!! with this awesome girl award i have to list 10 interesting things about myself:

1. i am cuban, swedish, mexican, & german (1/4 of each).

2. i love love taking photobooth photos, but only the real black & white ones with just a camera (not those cheapy computer computer ones in malls).

3. the princess bride is my favorite movie.

4. i am vegetarian.

5. i'm excited about keri smith's new book that is out tomorrow!

6. i am a volunteer leader/counselor in two different youth groups.

7. i was named after both my grandmothers.

8. it's really hard for me to think of interesting things about myself!

9. i'm a decent origami paper folder.

10. i love to play freecell on the computer.

i now give this awesome girl award to the following 10 blogs:

mymybuhay
sarah's loft

delicate diaries

my paper heart

tartan tutus

hey lovely

linda lost in switzerland

raindrops on roses

janessalynne

arrivaderci

oh, lizzie.

with this honest scrap award i have to list 10 things no one else knows:

1. i have thought many times about packing two bags, withdrawing all my money, & leaving without telling anyone. then maybe leaving clues in unexpected places that would tell where i am.

2. i hate alter calls.

3. my letter got posted on letters to crushes.
4. i want a guy to tell me that i am lovely.

5. it's taking even longer & is harder for me to think of things no one else knows!

6. sometimes i go to the library & just browse for hours & check out anything that looks interesting to me. i always end up taking home too much!
7. sometimes i feel like i want to write a story of boy meets girl, but i never do.

8. i want to fly a plane.

9. i wish i was back into swimming like when i was on the swim team.

10. i'm really scared my transition from school to career will be too hard or won't happen at all.

wow! that was tough. well, now i award these 10 blogs:

arrivederci

raindrops on roses

a sunlit day

janessalynne

nowhere in particular

a drawing journal

walking through a cave of light

looking through mauve-colored glasses

strumpet's crumpets

make.tea.not.war

*inside the cabinet of wonder: hehe. thank you! at first i wasn't going to make them. & i'll be sure to tell her you like her hair. thanks again for the award!

*dandelionkisses: yikes! mine too! it has its own shelf & i still feel like it's too big! miss you too :/

*asunlitday: thank you! yeah, that tradition is a pretty big deal in our family : )

*sarah: hehe, thanks : )

happy birthday raquel

my sister's eighteenth birthday was very nice. my mom & i woke her up early in the morning with presents (a family tradition). i gave her a white purse filled with all sorts of fun things. then her boyfriend showed up at the door to whisk her off for breakfast with friends. we spent the day at the flea market & mall. & after sushi for dinner with the family, she had a few friends over for ice cream. i made everyone party hats & had poppers for them too! these are photos of the day. you can read more about her day on her blog!

*kait: isn't the bank dance the best? i love the way he looks at her when he rubs her leg :o) hehe. yes i cut her hair, but my friend melissa cut some of it too. it was a fun adventure!

*dandelionkisses: hehe. it was really good. & the plates were so pretty! i would have never known about it if it weren't for you! : )

*delicate daydreams: sometimes it makes me laugh, but other times he's just too loud! hehe.

500 days of raquel

the day outing with my friends was quite fun! we ate some thai dessert which was mango with coconut sticky rice & we had thai iced coffee all outside on the patio. it was really really good. & i loved the dishes everything came in : )we also stopped at a farmer's market. everything was so pretty with all of the colors.then we watched 500 days of summer!! (photo from imdb) i finally saw it! ohhh! i was so happy watching it :] i love zooey & joseph was adorable. & i thought i would post this bank dance that i saw on wendy's blog too. enjoy!
one last thing!! today is my sister's eighteenth birthday!! i know she would love it if you went over to her blog & wished her a happy birthday!

*asunlitday: oh yes they are cute aren't they? & they were only $0.10 each!
*inside the cabinet of wonder: they had such cool art there! oh i could totally see you opening a gallery!! & i am so excited that i got those stamps! i've been looking for something similar to them & they were only $10 for the pair!
*amy: that apple was particularly delicious! thank you for the special something!!
*kait: i love how your comments are always at least a paragraph. it makes me happy to read them! the apple does look like the ones in fairy tales! my sister will be happy to hear you adore her hair :] she really likes it & i actually cut it, if you can believe it. it was pretty scary doing it though. i think ivy growing on houses is as fairy tale as that apple! i am not really sure but i think my book is called family in a global perspective or something like that. i think i will check out franny & zooey. thanks :]
*dandelionkisses: ohh it was fun! & yes! she gave them to me!! makes me happy : )

trip to the city

this was part of my lunch yesterday. it was such a cute apple that i had to take a photo of it : )
my sister, mom, & i traveled to the city today for a fun-filled day of shopping & art gallery browsing. this is my sister:i saw a really neat purple building with beautiful ivy climbing over it!i bought some things at the curiosity shoppe & little otsu, as well as a huge fabric discount store. this is what i bought!

it was such a great day! & today my sister & i are exploring another city with abbie & her sister & friend. fun fun!

*dandelionkisses: hahaha! oh wendy, you always make me laugh!

*inside the cabinet of wonder: i can't wait for it to make it's way to my doorstep!! & thank you for the award again! hehe. so nice of you :]

*alexa: why thank you dear!

*mandy: isn't it neat? you should blog about some of yours!

*mieke willems: oh you ladies are so very welcome! i just love your blog : ) you girls always find the neatest things.

*kait: that's a fantastic way of looking at it! & no i don't still sing...haha. i think that's where my talent stopped too :]

*brinja: thank you : )

*penelope: oh, i was afraid i wouldn't get a good shot because they were over the highway overhead & i was trying to take it close enough but before we passed them!

*sara: hehe. yes, he has the best eyes! they remind me of the kitty in boots' eyes on shrek.

ponies & teal satin dresses

i was looking through old family photos for a school project last week & i came across this photo. i thought it was really neat. it's a double-exposure mistake. one part of it is five-year-old me in my teal satin choir dress, standing in front of the line, waiting to go onstage. the other photo halfway covering it is of me riding my toy pony. i just thought this photo looked very whimsical & that i would share it with you : )

*dandelionkisses: aww. thank you. that made me smile! hehe. it seems quite a few people loved that catalog photo. you're so funny about the eggs! haha i was laughing. but yeah it is amazing bread. can't wait for you to try it!
*kait: you are so welcome my dear! oh i am so glad you said that about good things coming my way! i need some good things :] oh man panera bread! yeah i would pass it on the bus by my university & i always wanted to eat there because it looked like a place i would like. so much flavor! also i love it when you go to a food place & the people know you because you go there so much. it makes me feel all warm & fuzzy inside : ) oh yes, you should try to start your own chain of amish bread! it's really worth it.
*amy: hehe. it seems i am not the only one who loved that photo! they always have such neat photos!

: )

these were some hot air balloons that i saw on the way to school to take my final today. even though i'm scared of heights, i believe i would want to try going up in one of those. & for some reason they always remind me of the wizard of oz (at least the movie, i've never read the book).
but yes, i am done with my summer classes & finals! it feels so good to be done. however in little over a week i'll be starting my fall semester up again & back to school it will be.
after my final my mom picked me up because we were going to have a little girls day out! we had lunch at panera bread. i had never eaten there before, but it was so delicious! i had a grilled tomato, basil, & mozzarella cheese sandwich. we then stopped off at urban outfitters. i bought this pair of canvas tennis shoes for only $12. they were having some nice sales. & i just love the bag they came home in!i picked up a catalog on the way out & i just really like this photo.my mom received some starter for amish friendship bread around two weeks ago & she finally was able to bake it. it was so unbelievably good! you should really check out starting your own line of friendship bread around your friends.
i'm going to try to get back to replying to your nice comments again since things have calmed down a bit now. now it's off to eat dinner (wendy's oven-toasted pesto sandwiches) & watch an episode of legend of the seeker (so good!!).

*dandelionkisses: oohh!! yes i want to see the lovely photos!

*brit: hehe. he is a cutie.

*inside the cabinet of wonder: welcome! i know he so fun! i have a soft furry elephant hippie who is his best friend & a little black bear. they all have hippie headbands on : )

*amy: aaww. i'm glad :]




*nowhereinparticular: thank you!! i think i did rather well, so that's good!

octavius

this is octavius. most of the time he is a hippie & sits on my shelf with the other hippie creatures : )
one last day of summer school! i'm writing a final paper today for my sociology of film class & i have an in class final tomorrow. almost finished!

i've received some pretty awards! the first one is from the lovely linda - lost in switzerland. thanks linda! it had a small description that is to go with it, but for some reason i couldn't paste it here, so you can see it here instead. i pass this award on to:

wild tendency

frl.zucker

inside the cabinet of wonder

the second award is from the uber cool inside the cabinet of wonder! thanks nicola! i thought it looked very pretty :] i will pass this award on to:

brinja

janessalynne

mieke willems

pink

i really should be doing my homework but this illustration from clare owen is too nice. thanks coccinelle.

tote bags & typewriters

jennifer sent me a pay it forward gift she made me! she typed me a letter too on one of her uber cool typewriters. she made me a red tote bag with a little heart sewn on & an l embroidered for my name lina : ) it is really quite lovely! thank you! she also included a tiny bottle with glitter & stars "to shake when i am feeling blue." so cute! don't forget that you can get a gift made by me too! there are three spots left, so check it out!

mom, jubilee, & me

mom & i were on the way to take jubilee to the beach for the first time, but we ran into heavy traffic so we decided to go to the park instead. it was nice & very relaxing. i made jubilee a little flower wreath. she liked it but it took a long time to get a decent photo of her : ) mom & i were trying to take a photo together, but jubilee & her leash kept getting in the way. this made us laugh until we were teary-eyed. finally we got a good one together :]

ello love

just a quick post to say hello. i'm not sure where i found this photo, so if it's your tell me so i can give credit! i seem to just have a collection of photos i like & i forget where i discovered them. just me & my mom today. papi is working & raquel is visiting wendy still. they have been having photoshoots almost everyday. you should check out there photos on their blogs. i believe mom & i are going to the beach after church today!

one more thing. i received this cute award from janessalynne! thank you! i think it's really adorable. i pass this on to:

make.tea.not.war

hey lovely

inside the cabinet of wonder

perfectly placed pauline

p.s. i put my hair in curlers last night & now my hair is all curly!! i love it when it's curly : )

movies for school

i have been so busy since i've been back from my little trip. i have one more week left with summer school so all of these projects are due & i'm going crazy trying to finish everything. these are the rest of the movies we watched for my sociology of film class:

thank you for smoking stranger than fiction

mr. brooks all photos from imdb