something beautiful

two things of note for tonight.
one: i just got the new Newsboys cd called GO. i have been so excited for it, especially since it doesn't come out until tomorrow. i figured i would check iTunes since it is already tomorrow on the east coast. turns out, it was on itunes, so i purchased it and am listening to it right now... awesome cd :)
two: i just found out my draw for league finals on wednesday/thursday. now, for me, there is only one person that i would really not wanna play. if my life were some predictable tv show, of course i would be playing that one girl. but praise God that my life is not a predictable script! i am playing the gal that was undefeated until she came against me the second time around. you'd think i would be a little upset about the draw, but to be frank, i'm not. i am actually feeling pretty good... wait, i just started thinking. okay, maybe a little nervous. but that's okay. the next part of my draw, unfortunately, is a team mate of mine. so when (not "if" because i am building confidence here) we win our first round matches, we play eachother. then the winner of that goes on to the finals/makes it to CIF. we'll see how it goes.
that's all folks.

"i wanna run with fire, it's my hearts desire" -newsboys

well, i just wrote out a long blog saying all that happened this weekend with wilderness challenge and what-not when POOF... it all disappeared to the place of no return. i'm not too frustrated about it, but yall should be, because now you guys don't get to hear the fun stories since i refuse to rewrite them all... it's not that fun the second time around.
soory
instead, i am going to let yall in on a little bit of my mind today.
as i walked around today running errands, or while i was cleaning my room, doing homework, changing my clocks and watch, my mind started to go off on random tangents, acting like a little child and asking that little question that'll peck at your mind... "WHY?" for example, the time change. i asked myself, why do we do this. that one was simple, because it allows for the calendar to work or something to that effect. then i wondered, why have a calendar? well, it's our form of organizing time. why organize time? without organizing, things would be chaotic. why would it be chaotic, would it really be chaotic, or would we adapt? (starting to get annoyed yet? i sure was). getting in a debate with time is not a battle you want to take on.
so ya, my mind all day has been going around and around asking "why" and "how come?" it went from concepts like time and ritual to actions and life, and it got to the point of overload where you think so much that you're not thinking at all... ever have that? it's kind of crazy... today it came when i was standing in the salad aisle trying to find which bag to grab. i realized that i was standing in the aisle, looking at the salad, with this spaced look and mouth wide open (kind of like that pic in the post from friday). that's mental overload :)
wow, that's too much... i hope i didn't confuse you guys too much, or cause you to think that my attire should include a white jacket with lots of straps and shiny buckles. i will end now.

*challenge for the day... ask "why" to at least the third level of something and see what it does to you :)

so much time, so little to do... wait, strike that, reverse it.

what a day!

what a week!
we had our final league match today at home... now, i don't mean to get all gushy and stuff, but i have to say a few things about my first "last time" as a senior moment. introductions... man, it was tough. when i stepped out when my name was called and then ran down the line for high-5s, i couldn't help but wonder if it would be the last time (cif wasn't a for-sure). i'll get to the sets in a sec, but for now, a jump forward. i played my last set on the far left court today. i hadn't played a set for a match on that court ever before in all my three years of playing, and i got to finish there... it was kind of neat :) so ya, it was a bit emotional and all, but i didn't really tap into those emotions... i figure to save them for the last last set or match :)
so, now about the actual tennis stuff. i won my first set, but after playing my second set, it felt like i had played my first set yesterday. here's why...
i was down in the set 4-5 and she was serving 40-15 when she had 2 set points. now, my first thought was, i've never come back from set point down... i know, i know, those are bad negative thoughts, but i quickly changed them and decided to fight back (with encouragement and little thing called golden spoon dangling in front of my nose :) long story made a little shorter, after many many deuces and other faced set points, i finally got through the game, but lost my next service game, going down 5-6. again, i faced more set points, and i was wondering what i was still doing on the court. i made my way to a tie-breaker, which again, i faced more set points. i finally got a set point, but missed the opportunity. on my second set point, i finally converted and won the set (the tie breaker was 10-8). honestly, the amount of set points this gal had had to have gone well in to the double digits. i was so stinkin tired after that set, and i know i'll be feeling it in the morning.
i was reminded today of the awesomeness of icy hot. it works well, and smells good :) just thought i would add that in
well, it's late, and i have still got more to do, so i will end with a funny picture from today. it's not an action shot or anything, but my dad took this, and although it's embarassing, i couldn't pass up the chance to make someone laugh... so here ya go!
i don't really remember what i was doing, but i think it is likely that a yawn was involved.

what a week (so far)

this week has been filled to the brim with stuff to do... and i am no where near getting it all done! eek!
it's not really school stuff... just, well, tennis stuff, video stuff, chore stuff, favor stuff... and, like the beat, the list goes on!
we've had two tennis matches in a row with one to come... all of them are extremely important and extremely exhausting. it was my first time waking up sore from tennis in a long while this morning. yesterday went well... the team lost, but it was super close, and it was a super tough team (however, i did end one girl's undefeated streak). today, was crazy... almost like a twilight zone version of tennis... in more ways than one. today held my first time asking for a line judge... and i vowed that i would never do that ever since someone did that to me last season... however, i did... as did two other of our doubles teams back to back after my set. and, since our tennis courts don't have any lights like the ones that the football field have and recently replaced/upgraded, our last 3 or 4 sets had to be cut off due to the incapability to see the ball. my set was one of them, and yes, it was difficult to see the ball... i got hit by a serve, in fact. but don't get worried or anything, the serve wasn't fast or painful at all... that should tell you how dark it was. and, to top it off... when we agreed to stop the set, we had a disagreement in the score. i'm not going to get into it, so i will leave it at that: a stinky disagreement.
well, our final league match (and my final league match as a high schooler... sad :( is tomorrow. it is a very big match tomorrow, so i better get to sleep... i have been so excited to sleep ever since i woke up this morning.
tis all for now!

Hooroo

(by the way, i have been asked a few times recently what "hooroo" means, and i did define it maybe a year ago in the blog, but i will redefine it now... it is Aussie talk for "bye"...so, on that note..."

Hooroo, again :)

here are a few pics from my latest photo project

today i turned in my first photo project for photography, and here are a few of the ones i took (we had to take a total of 24 pics split up between 3 objects). fun stuff :) this last one is my favorite... i think i want to put it on my wall.

i forgot to write about our tennis match yesterday... well, we did very well and won. i personally had a rather good day too... coach put out the offer of buying golden spoon for anyone who got three bagels (6-0 s) because we were planning on going to golden spoon after practice today. lets just say that the golden spoon offer was too good to pass up, so i got my three bagels. and an even bigger personal achievment: no double faults in my last two sets. before, i was having trouble getting through a single game wihtout a double fault :) lets hope i can keep the momentum (sp?) rolling through tomorrow's match and my league matches to come.
so yes, we went to golden spoon today, and i have to say, i think it tastes better when you have to work for it :)

HOOROO

a good match and two bad endings

today, tuesday... long day of school, good tennis match, we won 17-1.
i watched two movies tonight, and both were kind of weird. well the first one was weird because it was in a different language. besides that, it was interesting, however it had a terrible terrible ending. then i watched "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind." if you really want to stretch your brain and don't mind getting a little frustrated while watching a movie because it is just so weird, go for it... also had a bad ending.
my day, in contrast to the movies, will have a good ending.
you know why?
cause i am going to sleep, something i have been looking forward to all day :)
tomorrow i am taking a test by the army to see what my career is going to be (or in their case, should be). then we have a tennis match
my mind is all over the place thanks to that movie
im tired

good night

:)

a blast from the past for frankenstien!

i will explain further... first frankenstien, then the blast.

i had a tennis lesson today in manhattan beach (where the weather was BEAUTIFUL) and it went very well. the fox trot has officially become a part of my game, and i'm not even going to say how, because it'll ruin how funny that sentence sounds and seems. anyway, i was working on playing out the point with me serving. however, it was quite hilarious to see the coach that gave me the monster serve i have (pun totally intended, you'll see why) struggle to return it. i was laughing because all i could think of was frankenstien whenever i aced him... steve (my coach) had created a serving monster (see the pun now?) that was alive and taking over :) i don't know if that makes any sense to you guys, but it does to me... and it makes me laugh.

now for the blast. after my lesson, i went to downtown manhattan beach and walked around a bit, checking out some of the new stores and what-not. i went into this store called papyrus and got in line to buy a card. i looked up and saw the cashier lady, immediately recognizing her. i wasn't sure if she'd recognize me (again, you'll see why) and when i walked up to the cashier, she immediately said, "you look familiar..." knowing exactly who she was, i quickly told her where from... she was one of the counselors at camp mattel (a summer day camp that i went to from age 6-12). I hadn't seen her in over 6 years (she didn't work there my last two years). it was crazy, and she totally remembered me. we talked for a little bit, and she asked me where i was planning to go to college cause she knew i was a senior now. this is where it gets crazy... i told her i'd be going to college out in michigan, and then she said that she was going to be moving to michigan soon. curious, i asked what part of michigan... she tells me, "grand rapids!" (that's where calvin is for any of you who don't know). isn't that crazy!?!?! so we talked a bit more, and got to the topic of my old best friend jason that i knew from camp mattel. now, we were best friends for the longest time, maybe about 7 years and he's a grade above me. i haven't seen or talked to him since 6th grade cause he doesn't live around here. after leaving papyrus and getting into my car, i realized that i still had his phone number memorized. i decided to try giving him a call even though i wasn't sure he'd be home because he's in college now. i called and it turns out, he is still living at home while going to a local college... he remembered me instantly and we talked for about ten minutes. we've definitely taken diferent routes in life, but it was so crazy and awesome to be talking to him again! we decided that we would meet up sometime in the next few weeks while i am in manhattan beach so we could catch up from the past 5 years! crazy! total blast from the past!

well, that's it for the day... i need to go work on my photography project now!

HOOROO :)

(look below for a continuation of this post and some pics that just might make you laugh)

okay, all this talk about my memories as a little kid prompted me to go look at some old pics to see if i could find any of me and jason... i ended up finding some funny stuff and because it is so funny, i decided to get the scanner going so i could put some of them up on the site... it is kind of embarassing stuff, but i have to spread the laughter...

here's a pic of me and jason... i have no idea where this is at or why there is a weather map. at mattel, we were in the first generation of campers and were always the oldest (i don't know how that worked out). anyway, we were the cool kids. all the little kids (or shall i say little-er kids since we were little too) would do anything we said... kind of scary now that i think about it. anyway, we were top dogs, so that's a pic of us :)
next is a pic of me and my middle bro aldo at my birthday party i had when i was in kindergarden. i LOVED peter pan (that's who i am supposed to be dressed as). look at my hair... and those bangs?
here's the fun part... tennis. no, i haven't been playing tennis all my life, but i did take lessons for a year when i was young. anywho, here are pics of me and tennis... really really embarassing.

all i have to say about the last one is what in the world were my parents thinking in letting me wear those clothes? today, i'd rather wear what i was wearing in the second picture than that funky ensemble anyday.

i am going to stop now... but that's a little peek into my past :)

popular with the younger ones

so, did anyone enjoy the rain as much as i did? and the lightning? these are things i love, but only when they don't come between me and tennis... that's when i start to have issues with rain.
anywho
it said on the news that this weekend is supposed to be an early blast of winter... kind of exciting. ya.
today was harvest festival... i ate some awesome cookies, and even played some tennis with woo... and about ten other passer-bys. ya, people kept on walking by and asking to hit a few shots. i thought it was kind of funny that people wanted to randomly hit, so either jenny or i would give them our racket and the other one of us would hit with the person for a few shots... we literally had a line going. then there was the one group of boys, probably middle school. i played a little game with them (jenny's idea): who can return cristina's serve? my self esteem was boosted quite a bit after that game :)
jenny and i were just laughing hystarically at all these people coming to play. i even gave a few of them tips, and they could actually hit the ball after i told them how to hold the racket. it was just random...really random... and hilarious :)
plus, i forgot how famous i was with the young ones, middle school and lower. i had girls that i taught in 2nd grade for GEMS (which i did two years ago) coming up to me and saying, "do you remember me? you're my Gems teacher!" i remembered them alright, and it was fun to see them cause they are in 4th grade now, and they've grown taller since i last saw them. and the middle schoolers... i am quite popular with them because of dunamis... you know, my status as "camera lady" and "ping pong lady" still stands outside of camp. i had multiple middle schoolers running up to me to talk to me and to affirm that i was indeed the camera lady from dunamis. one of my best opponents in ping pong from camp actually saw me playing tennis and said i was betraying him and ping pong. quite funny.

well, off to my warm bed and sweet dreams!
have a fantabulous winter-ish weekend!

:)

turn that frown upside down!

turn off the AC, roll up the windows, and close your doors... it's chilly outside! zip up that jacket and bring out the slippers, and, my favorite part, break out the tea!
tonight was my first time having green tea in forever!!! well, i drank it iced a few times this summer, but brrrrrr, no ice this time. for me, it's the first sign of the cooler season starting (i don't say cold because where we live, it's not really that cold :) yay for tea!

okay, so i've been dreaming of taking/making this picture for a very long time now, and tonight i fulfilled my dream. now, i've been struggling to come up with a punch line, and i can't quite choose which one is best. but i'd say, wouldn't the world be a better place if we had happy outlets? i mean, how can you not smile when you see this? it may be a little weird that i've been longing to take this picture for a long time, but seriously, for the past year, i have been looking at outlets and can't help but see the character behind the face-plate. I wonder, what makes them so sad... are they ever happy... what would they look like if they were happy?
i say, this could be a good advertisement pic for the whole "flex your power" campaign... you know...
"are you keeping your outlets happy" or, "make your outlets happy and unplug." okay, so i am no advertisment genious, but you gotta admit, the pic is cute :)

fyi: in case you haven't figured it out yet, i photo shopped this picture... our outlets don't really look like this :)

alright, enough about the outlet :)

i hope this brings a smile to your day!

i am very very very very very tired.

this is pretty much a summary of my day. the praise team played today in chapel, so i got a little bit of guitar in. and today we had a tennis match, and i got a lot (a LOT) of tennis in today... lemme just say this:
3 tie-breakers.

off to bed for me :)

night night

oh, and yes, life is good :)

i'll try to make it quick...

i really should be writing an english paper right now, but i just have to quick tell today's story :)

okay... quick background...so, this morning, i was still sick, had to wake up early, and the morning was a bit rough. fast-forward to our tennis match... i played a kind of practice match (it didn't count towards the team score) and i won 6-2. after that set, still sick, still tired, a little happier. i then stepped in for one of our singles players who wasn't feeling well and played the #2 gal--I won 6-3: a bit sicker, super tired, and a bit happier. I then played the #3 gal and won 6-4... not as sick, dead tired, and super happy. I'll come back to that stuff in a sec, but i have a quick side note. We play this team (calvary chapel) every year, once a year. they are always fun to play, and they have a cool coach. so, when we were on our way to the bus, leaving the courts, coach said to calvary's coach "see ya next year!" and i didn;t think much of it at first, but then 5 seconds later, i thought... oh no, i won't be here next year. after consideration, i ended up quick running back to the coach and saying 'bye' one last time... i told him that i wouldn't be back next year and that i wanted to say thanks and bye...he's super cool. so ya, that was fun... and so was tripping on the sidewalk :)
so, back to the sick, tired, and happy theme.
I have concluded that tennis is my new cure-all. up untill today, it had been almost 5 days since i touched my tennis racket. i think playing today has helped to heal me :) although i was coughing and what-not and feeling sick during my sets, afterwards is a different story. since i have been home, i haven't been feeling really sick at all, except for a stuffy nose. duh i am really tired, but hey, i'm not coughing up a lung everytime i go upstairs anymore!

i must end there... see, i am no faster at writing a "quick story" than my mum is at "grabbing a few things" at the grocery store... (no offense, madre)

HOOROO!!!

ick... i'm sick

well, i didn't get to play tennis today because of an unwelcome situation... i've caught one of those eye-nose-ear-sinus-throat thingys... i should be a doctor, i am so good at diagnosing.
anyway, so tonight i will be finding a way to rid of this, and i have already started with my idea of a good cure...
wear green pants (that's to keep the smile going), longsleeves (that's for, well, we can guess what that's for when your nose is involved...haha), eat in'n'out (that's for a satisfied tummy), and my favorite part, golden spoon (the common cure for just about any disease).

we'll see if it works!

hooroo!!!

don't forget!

okay, so let me just start that today was a complete opposite of what i thought it would be.

yesterday night, when i was coming home, all i could think about was how tired i was and how tired i was going to be the next day (today, thursday). and while waking up this morning at 6:00, that's pretty much the idea that i still had in my head... 'today is going to be long." however, it almost immediately changed.
I got to school at 7 and we started setting up and practicing for praise band/chapel, and i just started getting all this energy, started getting all pumped up. then we played in chapel this morning, and it was awesome... just totally awesome. that totally got me up an in a good mood, totally ready for the day. (i've just used the word "totally" a lot in a little time... totally weird).
anywho, i wasn't tired in 5th period like i usually am (cause it's right after lunch and in a time where a siesta is preferred), and we left for tennis at the very beginning of 6th period. today was our first match with the new uniforms, and they are awesome.
so today was our first league match, and it was against connoly (sp?). i played at 2 singles today, and i have to say, this set is one that just completely caught me by surprise... but not in a way you would think.
let me just set the stage a bit... i am totally not a social tennis player... i don't like to talk with my opponents. i dunno, to me it would just make the situation awkward and more complicated. my opponent, however, is what i would call a tennis social butterfly. she got the conversation started before we even started to warm-up. at first, i was trying to find a way to avoid being social, but then as the warm-up went on, i couldn't help but join in the social fun.
it threw me off, however, when she would talk to me in the middle of a game... like at 30 all in the first game, she asked me where i wanted to go to college. it kind of caught me off guard, but between games, conversation would continue, and she would make some comments during games as well. i found myself just laughing and smiling throughout the whole set... anyway, there are more details, but the main thing is that this set was so fun, it helps that i won, but still, it was a fun and funny situation that i would normally hate. we talked about careers, corn bread, and oh ya, the set was started off with a suggestion by my opponent: "lets have fun!"
fun we did have, and that's pretty much the story for my last two sets... except there was no social-ness in my last set against the #1 singles girl... it was all business :) the team won today and we still hold our undefeated record!

this got way too long, so i will quickly turn to the reason for my stories of the day's happenings.
there is a verse in deuteronomy that is called "the don't forget!" verse... and today is a day that made me think of the verse... "Make sure you don't forget God, your God, by not keeping his commandments, his rules and regulations that I command you today. Make sure that when you eat and are satisfied, build pleasant houses and settle in, see your herds and flocks flourish and more and more money come in, watch your standard of living going up and up—make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget God, your God.."
basically, don't forget God when things are going good. so, that reminds me to thank God when things are good, and it brings me to say, Praise God for today, a great day!

i hope you all have a pleasant friday! i know i will... more tennis!

you've gotta love this... i did :)

This is an excerpt from one of my favorite books that i have read lately... it is called "Killer Tennis," and it is based off of the drawings by Gary Patterson (he has done a ton of tennis comics that are hilarious..) anywho, anybody who knows tennis will find this to be quite amusing... just imagine really doing this--i've thought about giving this a try for my next tennis match :) This one is titled "The Warm-Up"

"The best way to become a Killer Tennis Player is to commit many little murders in the warm-up. Properly done, you will finish the warm-up "warm" and "up," while your opponent will remain dead cold. The moment you get on the court, throw yourself on the ground and begin doing push-ups. It's impressive if you use only one arm. It's even more impressive if you use none. Continue doing push-ups until your opponent finishes opening the can of balls.
When your opponent is ready to warm up, spin your racket in your hand a few times and study it closely. Tap the strings and casually mention that your new racket is experimental, cost over $5,000, was developed by the Pentagon, and that you are legally required to register it with the police.
As you begin hitting the ball with your opponent, find out what he or she doesn't like and do it. If she likes to hit hard, hit soft. If she wants to practice coming to net, lob. Whenever your opponent's balls hit the white line or crawl over the net, remind her she's using up all her luck. Look bored. Never give him your full attention. Carry on a conversation with other tennis players--who are four courts down--read a book, go shopping.
At the end of the warm-up, mention to your opponent, 'I'm really glad we're playing today. I'm coming back from an injury, and you know how important it is to start back slowly.'"

Don't you just love it?

This is a really random jump in topics, but this is a reall really cool rock climbing picture, so enjoy this too :)

lots has happened

i have officially finished my application to calvin! i submitted my completed applcation on monday, and everythng is sent in... so i will keep yall updated on any news that i get.
well, now that i think of it, my post title is wrong... not that much has actually been happening. the calvin app was big, so maybe that's what made me think a lot has happened. tennis is happening, but that's a given by now. the season is going well, and lets just say it can only get better.
so i saw on the news that there has been a sudden increase in the population of spiders around here... like a huge increase. you know what that means for me... keep the bug spray and benedryl close at hand.
hmmm, what else... oooo, i brushed up on my stick-shift skills and drove my grampas porsche again this past weekemd... here's a pic:
now that's a pretty sweet ride :) but not as sweet as the ride that you can see the tail end of on the left side of the picture :)

i've got a quick tennis story, but it might not be that interesting... i think it's one of those things where you just had to be there to fully appreciate the story.
we had a match at village christian yesterday, and we got out of school at 1:15 because this place is far... you could say that it is 'just past pasadena' and then some. anyway, we get ready and go outside to get on the bus, but the problem is, is there isn't a bus. turns out no one scheduled a bus for us, so after much figuring out, we ended up having to take the school van, which is an 8-passenger van.. you do the math: 12 people does not equal 8 passengers. so, eventually we came to the plan that i would take 4 other people with me in my car, and we would follow coach who drove the van. long story short, it was a fun, long, interesting ride out there.
o the adventures of tennis!

speaking of tennis, i am off to play!

hooroo

to the masses...

well, i just saw that my mum sent out some kind of mass email (i don't know what size mass) telling people to go to my sight for "fun, laughs, and wholesome teenager insight." well, none of that is guarenteed, but i thought i would just welcome those of you who actually came to my site-- and thanks to my mum for the advertising... i think.

enjoy

strap on your helmets... it's time to go bowling!!!

disclaimer: we are trained professionals and know what we are doing... do not attempt this on your own...

ok, so it's friday, we just got done with our first week of school, and our minds aren't in the most intelligent state. wanting to do something more than just stay inside and watch tv, we came up with an idea. now, what do you get when you put a helmet, skateboard, and ten empty arrowhead water jugs together in the hands of jenny and me?

i'll tell you: you get a potentially dangerous, completely hilarious, and really awesome round of bowling.
yes, we are 17 years old, yes we are seniors in highschool, and no, we aren't "on" anything. we're just... well, we're jenny and cristina... do i need to say much more?

here you see me preparing to go down the lane (jenny's driveway). it was nice to be able to push off the garage door for more speed. this was an earlier run where we started off with a bike helmet.
eventually, we changed to my rock climbing helmet because it had better "feel" and looked better in the pictures. this is me making an attempt at a strike... i think i left two standing on this attempt.
jenny was actually the first to try it, and she did very well, although she too failed to get a strike down the driveway lane... check out that form though!
there is nothing more fun than the plow into the bottles... the noise, the randomness, and the imagining of the thoughts people are having as they drive by and see someone plowing through a bunch of water bottles... every bowl provides complete satisfaction and unstoppable sore-stomach laughter...
after about 5 tries each down the driveway lane and no strikes, we decided to take a more traditional approach... actually bowling the person into the bottles... in other words, grab the feet, push and run fast, let go, and watch them plow through and knock 'em all down!
every time we did it this way we got a strike... we were actually pushing really fast, and it was kind of scary, but in the end it was just plain hilarious!

jenny was transporting some of the bottles from my garage in a very unusual fashion... but then again, everything we did was unusual. we actually spent an hour of just going down the driveway and plowing through, and then setting it up again and then doing it all over... then bowling eachother at the bottles, and then setting up again. we had so many people that drove by and slowed down to see what we were doing... it was so much fun... what a day!

but remember, the only thing that made the fun possible was the fact that we were safe and wore our helmets!

lets celebrate some "firsts"

All right, so labor day has passed and we all know that the first day of school has come and gone. my first day was yesterday, and let me tell you... we jumped right back in to the swing of things so it feels like we have been back in school for a while. i've got a great schedule filled with things like AP calculus, economics, environmental science... these classes are actually fun. environmental science makes me want to chain myself to a tree and keep the forrest from being chopped down. anywho, i'm also taking photography, and that'll be fun as well.
okay, next few firsts: we had our first praise team practice yesterday before school... it was so awesome, and i am looking forward to our next practices. we had our first tennis match on tuesday, and we had our first victory today! today also held my first bagel this season :)
another exciting first: i wrote my first college essay yesterday! i've been working on my application to Calvin (i'm doing early apps) and i have completed one of the two essays... yup, definitly exciting!
well, what a week! that's all for now though... i've got some homework to do!!!!

hooroo :)

no title

i was too lazy to think of a title, so this post doesn't have a title.

so today was a pretty fun day. the day started out with a bike ride to the beach with the entire tennis team! although we didn't very fast, it was still a lot of fun to be riding with a bunch of people, and i'm sure that people passing by on their bikes thought we were a funny looking bunch... we were a mixture of road bikes, mountain bikes, and beach cruisers. after making it to the beach, we ate at 'river's end cafe (it's right at the end of the riverbed, hence the name, 'river's end')
and speaking of tennis, our first match is on tuesday at home. it'll be a scrimmage, but i've been waiting for tennis season to start ever since i lost my cif match last year... seriously, it's all i have been talking about all year. this season will be fun, and hopefully the ol' saying "time flies when you're having fun" won't be true for tennis season. i don't want it to go quickly.
in other news, school starts on wednesday... wow. that ol' saying was definitly true for this summer. SO MUCH happened this summer... starting with dunamis (amazing), to palm desert, to my friends leaving for guyana, to hawai'i (awesome), to mammoth (fishy... in a good way :), and then to ending the summer with tennis season starting. plus all the stuff in between, like our house finally being finished and my sweet super-awesome room being completedas well! mucho tennis, some bike rides, mas tennis, oh, and guitar stuff along with a little golf, and some filming jobs... but, take note!!! are the words, "summer homework" anywhere in the lists above? NO! and no, it's not because i had summer homework and i have just been puting it off until the day before school starts like most of you would guess... it's because it was my first summer in the past 3 years without it.
so, now i can look back on my summer and finish it by saying that i have been blessed with a filled summer and that this summer deserves the rating of an especially big smiley face
:)
hooroo

golf pics from mammoth and a surprise

these are the last pics from mammoth... jenny and i went and hit a few golf balls at the driving range in mammoth... what a view, eh? it was amazing hitting golf balls into the mountains... ok, maybe not that far, but in the direction of the mountains.
now for the surprise: i found a new home for my bunny (we've been trying to find a place for her where she can get lots of love and attention). i have been dreading the task, but when i heard that friends of mine from house church where going to get a bunny for their kids, i knew that it was meant to be. oreo (the coolest bunny in the whole entire world... and the cutest) went to a new home today, and she absolutley loved it. the boys loved her too, and oreo was really chill... she totally let the boys hold her and pet her. i was soooo happy that it worked out, because i still get to see her every now and then :) the last pic is a pic of the boys and oreo together.
hooroo

sweet moves and yummy fish

so we ate the fish we caught in mammoth... they were delicious... yum yum. but before we ate, me and jenny (i mean, jenny and i... school is starting soon!) tore up the street with our sweet moves. nobody can shred like we can... check out the air i got! and look how low jenny can go! ya, we're amazing.
on another note, after filming a... well, lets just call it long... wedding last night, i started to see that this could be a side job for me. so far, i've been getting the weddings through the referals of friends, and it's been working good... i have one more to do for sure in december. but, as i was talking to irene (the gal that uses scissors to change the length of my hair) she was saying how it was hard for her in the real estate industry because she can only get referrals or people she knows. i told her i about my wedding videography, and she told me i should make business cards. i laughed at first, but today, i laugh no more. i have decided to make business cards, and after much speculation, i have created a company name along with a clever design. my company name: well, i can't ruin it for you... you have to recieve an official business card from me... i will be making them tonight. i have also come up with the idea of having assistance while i do my job... yes, i have created my aid, Techy Jenny. she'll hold the camera bag or something. i have also decided to save all my earnings from the weddings to go towards a new video camera. the one i have and use now has "used for family vacations and baby's first steps" written all over... you know, the kind that people uses when they catch "america's funniest home videos" moments. well, my next one will be a bit more professional, hopefully. so, hopefully this wedding thing will become a little more serious.
yup yup, the company is growing. lots of decisions...
check out the sweet pics below!

gone fishin' (for the first time)

ok, so lets tell this story from beginning to end.
today was my first time going fishing, and by golly i started fishing in style. we were out on the lake, finished eating our lunch that we packed, and prepared for a day of fishing. we rented a pontoon (what a weird word) for half day, so we got out on convict lake at about noon. so, after eating, i cast out for the first time... i waited, i was bored. cast again, waited, bored again. after ten minutes of this cycle, i cast out again, but this time, different result. all of the sudden, i felt a really strong pull. at first i thought my line was stuck, but then the fish started running away (or swimming i guess). i can't even find a way to acurately put into words what the next 10 minutes were like... i'll have to act it out for some of you guys when i get home, but for now i will try to describe it. the fish (which i later neamed 'spike') was going hard and fast away from me. i was reeling him in but he was pulling line out faster than i could reel him in... my pole was bent into a complete semi-circle (is that an oxymoron?). i thought my pole was going to snap, and my arms were hurting like crazy. i was putting the fishing pole in my stomach so that i could have some stability and extra strength. however, all my reeling, pulling, and holding on proved to be useless... he was going too far, too fast, and too strong. next thing i know, SNAP! i ran out of fishing line and the last piece of line snapped of the reel. spike had gotten away. we concluded that spike was at least 10 pounds, no joke. look at the pic of my pole bent, and i think that'll support our guess. i know fishing stories tend to be exagerated, but this one is so not. and to prove that i don't exagerate fishing stories, i have one more, and it's not as exciting.
below are two pics of me holding my first fish... unfortunatly, he wasn't spike (i was so mad he got away), but that didn't take away the feeling of catching my first fish. he was about a foot long, and the fight to get him was pretty good. he jumped out of the water a few times, but otherwise, it was a good catch. it was also my first time ever holding a fish, hence the weird look on my face.
so, since the showdown with spike, i have been addicted to the routine of casting, waiting, and reeling in. i never really understood fishing before, but now that i have seen that there is a challenge, and a possible fight to be had, i have been hooked (wow, i have just been doing well with these puns these last few days :) my competetivness with slimy things that swim has brought me to add another hobby to my list.
jenny caught a fish as well... it was funny, cause i looked over at jenny and her slightly bent fishing pole, and all she said was, "uh, i think i caught something." everybody caught one fish today. it was fun.
right now, after spending 8 hours on a pontoon, i am really feeling like i am still on a boat and it is making me sick.. so i need to stop typing...




this is the pic of the spike showdown!

more pics

gull lake... beautiful

by the way, i changed the post with the tree pictures (it was two days ago i think).. i added some words of explanation/clarification :)

yay for kayaking!

ok, so i love kayaking.... i absolutely LOVE TO KAYAK. when we come to mammoth is the only time i get to kayak... once a year. i make sure to enjoiy it as much as i can. by the way, did you know kayak is a palindrome? well, it is.
every year we go to gull lake because we have made it a necessary part of our trip. we have to go kayaking at gull lake, and meanwhile the rest fish in a little motor fishing boat (psh, forget the motor, it's all about manual labor).
so yesterday was gull lake day; jenny and i kayaked and paddle boated. normally we have a two seater kayak, but that one was broken so we each rented a one seater. it was a bit of a bummer because the two seater helps with teamwork. however, the seperat kayaks proved to be VERY fun. we kayaked for two hours and paddle boated for one hour. what a work out! that paddle boat was impossible to get moving, it was crazy! i have never felt that kind of burn in my legs before. the paddle boat was red and glittery... it looked like an oversized version of dorothy's red slippers. : ) in the kayaks we had a lot of fun... we even went backwards for a while. we crashed into eachother quite a few times, and the wind was SO strong. kayaking (an paddle boating) was so hard going into the wind. the water was super choppy and we got soaked. i made the mistake (twice) of turning my kayak sideways so that the waves in the water nearly tipped me over. one time, a little water got in when i almost tipped... anyway, towards the end of our kayaking sessions, we just laid back and floated around in the kayak (that's what the pic of me laying in the kayak is from). and of course, being on a lake for multiple hours means multiple tan lines, including the sunglass tan. jenny got some good shorts tan lines, as did i (mine was on purpose though, you know, with tennis season coming up). after we got back from dinner, we looked for a few shooting stars. i found that the best spot to search from was from atop my car, even though i didn't see any.
so today, we will be going to convict lake where i will be fishing for my first time ever... yup, never even held a pole.