this is not what spring is supposed to be

well at least not to me, a Californian. as i said yesterday, i miss those bright yellow mustard seed flowers growing wild everywhere you look. so i looked through my pictures just to make me a little happier while its dark, grey, and rainy outside here. it looks so dead and miserable out my window (the graveyard adds a nice touch). i seriously need the sun and warm weather to permanently be here already!!
okay so here are a few of my favorite shots i've taken over the years! (mostly around springtime) enjoy!

and our wonderful beautiful hillside that has now been DESTROYED for a stupid nursing home!! D:

p.s. 41 DAYS UNTIL I GO HOME!!!!!!!!! yess i am starting the countdown! so happyyy!! :D

Mackenna makes me laugh

today, i was singing "say my name, say my name, wear it out" and mackenna says "you not weirdo! you kiana!!" hahah! she thought "wear it out" sounded like "weirdo." she cracks me up.
and she's been having difficulties getting dressed in the morning:

this was from a couple days ago

today, after she got her shirt partly on (but still covering her face) she walks out of my room (i guess so i wouldn't see her) then start whining in the hall, meaning she was stuck and needed help. she walks towards my room, her shirt all twisted and still covering her face. she almost runs into the doorway as she tries to find her way to me so i can help her (i'm laughing this whole time btw). then i take out my phone and just say, "one second one second!" and somehow she knows that i'm taking a picture, so she says "CHEEEESE!!" even though i can't even see her face!! hahahahah so so funny!

aaaand today haha!

then five minutes later...

passed out on my floor haha!

and later, as i'm getting ready to go get holden, (i had told mk to go get her shoes and jacket on) it was strangely quiet. i thought maybe she had gone upstairs. so i yell her name and she says, "i'm downstairs!" and i'm like...by the door, downstairs??? and she answers YES! so i go and see this:

her waiting patiently and quietly in her stroller for me. all ready to go. hahaha!! she is the cutest!!

and just to be super random, i just saw this video on facebook and had to share. CRAAAAZY!!! and even crazier that the people only clapped for like five seconds! i'm pretty sure this is the most ridiculously impressive thing i have ever seen. well, i've seen some pretty ridiculously impressive things in my life, but this one is definitely way up there!


p.s. i am BEYOND jealous of the weather in California this week. is it SERIOUSLY going to be 90 degrees tomorrow?!?!?! wahhh!!! :( everyone spent the day at the beach!! soo not fair! it's cold and cloudy and about to rain here! so so sad. and i also realized i'm missing all of the yellow flowers in the fields and on the hills in Cali! even more sad!
BUT only about SIX more weeks till i'm back in the glorious sunshine state!! (are we the sunshine state....?)

p.p.s my phone is possessed

i heart rings

rings definitely are my favorite kind of jewelry. i never go a day without wearing some.
and i'm obsessing over these rings from Catbird. soooo unique, vintage-y and prettayyy!!
i really love pretty much all of their stuff...so you should go check them out!! :)

lo que hicimos hoy

me and Mackenna were extremely lazy today. but it still seemed like a pretty productive day somehow. first of all, i didn't sleep in. i got out of bed at 8 for the first time in i think ever! hahah! i wanted to go back to sleep but it was just too sunny in my room and it just wasn't happening. then Mackenna for once wasn't glued to the tv for hours. she actually came downstairs and played with her toys.

they would look a lot better/cooler if i edited them, but i'm not feeling up to it right now

i finally got to take pictures of the plants we have growing. i've been wanting to take pictures of them with the morning light shining on them, but was never motivated enough to get up early to do that. so yay for that!
then all day Mackenna kept complaining that her tummy hurt (because she is ALWAYS eating!!!) but then 5 seconds later would ask for a treat. she is crazy! i always tell her that she needs to take a break from eating so her tummy won't always hurt. so literally all day today we played in my room, mostly on my bed, in the covers, "resting," having hiccups, having tickle fights, listening to music, and i recorded a bunch of videos of her (which i CANNOT get to upload ANYWHERE...anyone know how to help??). i taught her colors and numbers and the ABC's in Spanish and Italian. she did so good!! made a video of that too, but who knows when you'll be able to see it! :/ she also kept saying "i'm so tired!" so she would climb back on my bed, suck her thumb, close her eyes for about 5 seconds then say "ok i rested!" hahaha!! she is such a stinker!

but it felt like a productive day because i did some laundry, made important phone calls, and TRIED to budget my POTENTIAL trip to Italy. to see how much money i would need and such. but as i was doing it, i said out loud, "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO BUDGET!!!" haha for reals! so after about 2 minutes, i started doing what i do best, doodling:

at least it looks pretty now :)

(and i meant to blur out the prices so my mother wouldn't see that $300 is my limit for souvenirs and clothes and such. but i'm thinking of making it lower, just so you know! ha!)

it felt like SUCH A LONG DAY!! since, you know, i didn't sleep in. we were both tired all day. and when Carrie came home, i actually took a little nap before we went to Uno's for dinner. which i will stop myself from saying anything about. oy vey!!!

mmm yeahh

Boys of Milan & Paris FW2011 from Justin Wu on Vimeo.

just wanted to share this video from milan and paris fashion week. put together by designer Justin Wu and Jak & Jil blog. I LOVE MALE MODELS! nuff said.
hahahhaa enjoy!
for some reason, i think my sister Kayla will appreciate this the most ;)

decisions, decisions

i'm reconsidering my decision on not going to Italy. it's killing me. and i'm reminded of it everyday, everywhere i go. since this country is so obsessed with everything Italian, apparently. and every time i see or here or eat anything Italian, i get really sad knowing that i'm not going there this summer. so that's why i'm reconsidering.
and to make it even worse for myself, i started looking at my Italian dictionary last night. i read it and said lines out loud for like an hour. then i decided to watch Eat Pray Love. you know, just to torture myself. i just about cried during the Italy part. I WANT TO GO SOOOO BAD!!!! wahhhhhh!!!! :'(
unfortunately, plane tickets are way more expensive now than they were in January. but i figure, if i do go, i can maybe get a job over the summer and in Utah while i'm at school and then i'll earn the money back in no time!

anyone have any advice for me?? just tell me what to do!!!!!

and, thought i'd throw in a picture from the Sartorialist of a few attractive Milanese guys ;)
this is reason enough for me to go! haha!

earth hour!!

tonight! 8:30 PM! do it!!! just turn off your lights (and any other electricity would be nice too) for an hour!
this is a nice excuse to make a tent and light candles and tell stories while holding a flashlight up to your face!
well, i wish that's what i could do. but i don't think the people in this house could care less. so i'll make an imaginary tent in my room, by myself, with all the lights out. and the flashlight on my phone. ha YAY ME!!

wanna know more? go here!


p.s. my pictures aren't being uploaded. so stupid. i'll try again later

meoww

too funny. can't help but to laugh when i see these.
can't remember where i found them :/

bathroom talk

exhibit A and exhibit B--out.of.control

i love how my bathroom always smells like pee. i love when Holden pees on the toilet seat and doesn't bother to clean it up. i love when Holden and Mackenna take a bath together and splash all of the water on to the floor, then use MY towel and all the rest of the towels from the cupboard to kinda clean it up (leaving me with no towel for my shower). i love that after cutting Holden's hair in my bathroom, Steven barely even bothered to sweep up the hair left on the floor. i love how Holden smears his boogers on all of the faucets in the house (making me gag while i'm brushing my teeth). i love how mackenna unravels the whole roll of toilet paper. i love how Carrie never dumps out Mackenna's potty, even when she was in the bathroom at the time of Mackenna going potty (causing my bathroom to always smell like pee).
but really, i do NOT love these things.
it drives me crazy.
the end.

one last post for today

i've already posted three times today, sorry!
but just wanted to leave you with this little gem.



i like the guitarist's sideburns and stache. and that guys' snuggie lookin/hugh hefner ish/fur coat thing. and the singer's hair. and the last guys...uh....face?
ya. well goodnight lovelies!! xoxo

speaking of adventure

david and sarah are kinda my idols. they travel the world and aren't afraid to try something new or totally crazy. they are so awesome, and i want to be them. a little. or a lot. and the pictures they take are simple and beautiful. i am so inspired. they are such rustic and adventurous people, i am so jealous! one day i'll do exactly what they do. and i better marry someone who's the same way. or else i'm traveling the world by myself!!

adventure is out there!

how dreamy are these pictures?? oh my goodness. so fun and adventurous! i want to make a tent out of sheets outside when it's finally warm at night. and make shadow puppets from the light from old lanterns. and run around catching fireflies! ahhh yes :)

top picture from here
teepee picture from here

Day 30

A picture of someone you miss.

my three best best friends!! Ashlee, Robert, and Katrina :) and, coincidentally, Ashlee's 19th birthday was just on Sunday. and this Friday it will be one year since Robert left on his mission! so crazy how fast the year went by! and Katrina's birthday is April 5th!
i met Ashlee and Katrina at my first year of EFY in Santa Barbara. we become super close during that week. and a few weeks later, i took the train down to San Diego to visit them. one of the best weekends of my life! and that's how i met Robert because he was living with them. and then we were all best friends! yayy!
i can't wait to go back to California because i'll actually have moneyy to go to San Diego to visit them for a week! eeeee :D


well, this ends this 30 day photo challenge. it's been fun, hopefully you learned a little more about me. it would've been done sooner, but i slacked a whole lot. oh wells :)

Day 29

A picture that can always make you smile.

and ermmm.....

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MAN ALIVE!!!!
yes...i stalked his facebook to get this picture. whatever. i love him. and i'm going to marry him. :D

amazingly, i kept it down to three! woo!

newww york

wicked! wish we could have seen it :(



manhattan bridge

view of the manhattan bridge from where we waited an hour for the bus

i've been super lazy about doing this post because there's nothing super exciting about it. and i'm afraid i might just rant and complain the whole time. but here we go....
Saturday morning me and my aunt drove to a bus station and left for new york at 9. it's like a Chinese business so all these Chinese people were riding it and the bus smelled like pee and fish. horrible. and this guy in the row next to us was SO obnoxious it wasn't even funny. him and his girlfriend/mistress got on the bus with a ton of luggage right when we were about to drive away. from the second he got on the bus, he was talking SO LOUD and just embarrassing himself. apparently they were only spending the day in new york, but had all this luggage, for reasons unknown. so weird. the things he said to his girlfriend/mistress were ridiculous. i put in my earbuds so i wouldn't have to listen to him the whole trip. that's all i'll say about him...
when we got to new york, the bus stopped in Chinatown, obviously. FYI, if you ever go to new york, NEVER waste your time in Chinatown. its dirty and stinky and sketchy. people won't leave you alone as you walk down the sidewalk because they're trying to sell you "Lou Vuitton, Chanel, designa bags!" like your nail lady but worse. and it's so crowded with tourists, for reasons i don't know. i really don't know why people would choose to go there! we walked back and forth trying to find the right subway station to get to times square. finally we did it.
times square is another place that i don't really like. wayyy too many tourists. it's cool and all, but only go there once. and don't even bother trying to go shopping. the only reason i'd go there again is to see a show. which is why we were there. we went to Gershwin theatre, where Wicked is playing. we entered the raffle for tickets. there were still some for sale inside, but my aunt didn't even consider buying them...i don't know why....then all of the people around us won the raffle, but we didn't :( so so sad. but whatever i guess. so we tried to decide on another show to see. i suggested Billy Elliot. so we went to the imperial theatre and checked the tickets. still some available, 80 bucks each for seats in the mezzanine. BUT it ran a little over 3 hours, and apparently we had to be back in Chinatown for the bus at 5:30 and the show started at 2 and would end at 5:10ish. i was like, "ya! that'll work! totally fine!" but Carrie was going crazy worrying about if we'd make it in time. but it's not like any other show would be any different! so she was trying to decide if we should get the tickets and i'm like "uhhh yaaa....!" i mean, if we miss the bus, then so what! we can always take the train back to Philly or if worst came to worst, we could spend the night at her friend's house who lives in the city. so it was reallyyy bothering me that she was so concerned about this stupid bus. so after talking to the box office guy who told us what train to take back to Chinatown, Carrie finally decided to just get the tickets. wheww!! she kept asking me what to do and i just said "uh, idk....i'm a spontaneous person and i don't like having to plan things out soooo....don't ask me" ha well, i said it a little differently, but that was the jist of it. so then we were gonna go to a pizza place i wanted to go to but she was like "oh idk if we can get there and get back in time...is it close to the bus stop? blah blah blah" and i'm like "you know what, whatever, i can just go there with my friends over spring break." so then she wanted to go LOOK AT THE SUBWAY STATION that the box office dude told us to go to. really?!?!? we literally spent all of our time walking from subway station to subway station, just to figure out how we would get to Chinatown...in 5 hours!! so then we went to lunch at Europan. i ate pasta and Carrie DREW A MAP OUT of the streets or something. she already had a printed out map of all the subway lines, we had my phone which had a gps with the subway lines, and then she had to draw it all out too?!??! whaaat???? i was going crazyyy.
so then we went to the show. which was AMAZING by the way! ahhhh i want to marry that kid! he is an AMAZING dancer! couldn't really sing, which was a bummer, but oh wells.
the box office dude told us that we didn't have to stay for the "grande finale" if we had to get out sooner or whatever, so right when the curtain dropped, Carrie grabbed her stuff and was ready to book it. i hadn't grabbed my stuff yet. then everyone stood for the standing ovation.the curtain went up and there was another dance number! no way were people going to let us get out. they did their bows and everythang. i was happy and laughing inside that we weren't able to get out. i couldn't care less if we missed the bus! actually i was hoping we did. mean. but whatever. then we eventually got out when it was all over. went straight to the subway station. basically ran. i walked. from there, we had to walk a little ways to get to the bus stop and got there with plenty of time to lose. but a lady told us it was across the street. so we went over there and a group of people were already waiting for the bus. then a lady working there said the bus was stopping somewhere else, so she led us all down the street and around the corner. but Carrie wasn't sure if this was even the right bus, so she went up and asked the lady, and the lady said, no it's a different bus. but was trying to ignore Carrie cuz she wanted us to go to their company's bus. so we RAN back to where we went first. i didn't really run. i was in boots and i have asthma so i said no thank you. so we finally go to the real bus stop. and waited. and waited. and waited for an HOUR!!! we could've been doing new york stuff!! ahhh i was so pissed. i seriously wanted to walk away. stupid stupid stupid. such a waste. but then it finally arrived. a nice charter bus this time, but it still smelled like fish. idk how that happens. but it wasn't as bad this time. and we sat by these two college age lookin guys who were visiting Philly from Wisconsin. we talked to them, they were cool. i ate my red velvet cupcake that i got from Europan but it was really disappointing. it wasn't moist and had no taste at all. the frosting wasn't cream cheese and also didn't have any taste. so sad.
then we finally got to the car and i drove home (!)
when i look back on it, it was a HORRIBLE experience! even though we saw Billy Elliot, Carrie totally ruined the day for me. so so stupid. how can you go to New York for the day and just be worrying all day about how you're gonna get back to a bus stop?!? i do not get it....
luckily next time i won't be there with her. i'll be there with one of my best frans!!! yaaayyyy :D

so sorry that this was a ridiculously long description of my day in new york. but, well, whatever