i put some new shoes on....

i'm just going to come out and say it, I LOVE SHOES. love. them. but you know what i love more than shoes? GOOD DEALS. today just happened to include both of those. i bought two pairs of shoes for $14.11. not separately. together. one was $6 and the other was $8. granted, they are sandals and it's almost january, but i don't care. i got them at this adorable place in downtown olympia called Yolli's. in addition to the cutest shoes ever, they have accessories like sunglasses, tights, purses, etc. i deff recommend going there :)
ps - i put on one of each because i couldn't decide what to wear :)

zoolights :)

last night was zoolights at point defiance zoo! me, my brother, sister, parents, and two nieces finally went to see all the beautiful lights. PTL that it didn't rain - even though it rained practically the whole way there. pearson (who's almost 3 1/2) wanted to see every "aminal" there and especially enjoyed the meerkats and aquarium. harper liked seeing all the lights, and danced whenever she heard music....by dance, i mean violently shook her body :)

i am the first one to admit i HATE zoos....the smells, the sights, pretty much all of it. but the lights transformed it and the smells were thankfully minimal :)

also, the view wasn't too bad either!

i guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough....

the only thing constant is change.

kind of ironic, right?

the only thing that is always happening nonstop, is change. when i think about all the changes i've gone through in the last 6 months, the last year, the last five years, it's a lot to process.

i just finished my first quarter of college, i graduated high school, i've met tons of new people, the list goes on.

let me give you a visual :

age 13 : 8th grade. note my braces, lack of makeup, and unfortunate hair color/lack of straightener

(i'm sorry for posting this carly, please forgive me!!)

me now.

age 18 : first year of college.

hopefully an improvement.....

as my mother likes to say, when we moved we were "forced into changing" which is true in a lot of respects. throughout it, i've learned you just have to go with the flow and adjust accordingly.

when i was younger, i used to HATE change. i absolutely detested it. i didn't want what was familiar to me to ever go away. but in the timespan of just one year, i became a teenager, i moved away from the place i had lived since i was born (in middle school nonetheless), my brother went to college, my sister got married, i knew absolutely NOBODY and suddenly i was feeling very alone.

but as i've gotten older, i've realized things change, people change, that's life. c'est la vie. it does no good to hold on to what you can't change, or worse, the past.

i think what got to me most about change was not having any control over my life. i don't think i'm a controlling person (for the most part) but i like having familiarity.

now that i stop to think about it.... i have quite a different outlook. i change my clothes at least three times a day. i change the layout of my blog practically every time i post something. my thoughts waking up are usually completely different by the time i go to bed. i'm seriously considering study abroad, which is something i never would have thought of doing a year or two ago.

my piece of advice : life is short, do what you love, and don't look back.

conflicted.

how is it possible

to feel two completely opposite things

at the same time?

december 11th, 2010

finally....here are pictures from my cousin lauren's wedding....or should i say reception? the food was delicious, the music/dancing was wonderful (ignore my 85 year old grandmother's comment: "what did i do to deserve this??") and the time with family was precious. it was at the air zoo in kalamazoo, which had lots of model airplanes, flight simulators, and lots of other rides! the newlyweds headed off to barcelona on friday - so fun :)

chopped.

for those of you i haven't seen yet.....here is a picture of my haircut. i got my haircut two days ago and i haven't had it this short since....elementary school at least. i haven't even put these on facebook, so consider yourself lucky ;)

baby it's cold outside......really really really cold.

while you are all waiting for the pictures from the wedding, (they're coming i promise) here are a few michigan snow pictures from monday.....23ish degrees, and FREEEEEZING. taken at my aunt & uncle's house -- it snowed all day the day before :)

insert title here.

[i apologize for the time on this post - i didnt have internet access. but nevertheless....]

hello dear blog readers.....i apologize for the delay in updating you on my life! i know you just can’t live without reading my posts, right?? ;) haha anyways.....currently i am at 10 thousand-something feet in the air on my way to chicago....more specifically, to kalamazoo, michigan for my cousin lauren’s wedding. i’ve got, oh, about 4 hours to kill, and no homework to procrastinate, so this might be long. or not....

speaking of no homework to procrastinate, i am completely finished with my first quarter of college.....and it feels GREAT. the last week and a half or so was crazy hectic, filled with studying, papers, and tons of activities. it’s nice to be home and just relax, not worrying about anything. i’ve never had a winter break where i don’t have homework. it’s a little strange, but i’m not complaining. i’m one of the lucky ones who gets basically a month off of school. i love quarters!

hmmm what else.....let me give you a run-down of my day (thus far)

4:20 am : the un-godly time i woke up >:(

4:45 am : leave for airport

7:25 am : plane departs for chicago

1:30 pm (illinois time, 11:30am washington time) : ETA; drive to kalamazoo (2.5 hours), check into hotel, change

7 pm (michigan time): go to rehearsal dinner @ my aunt & uncle’s house

11 pm (hopefully) : SLEEEP.

& tomorrow is the wedding! i can’t wait :)

i’m staying in a hotel suite with my mother, aunt lindsey, and my 85 year old grandmother. score for being the only one under 50 hahahaha. as much as i love my family, i sometimes (ok, a lot of times) wish i was closer in age to some of my relatives. any of them. i try to not complain, because clearly there is nothing i can do about it, but i still find myself frustrated with being the youngest. to put it bluntly, my family is old. there’s never anyone my age to hang out with, and sometimes i just feel awkward because i’m SO far apart in age from everyone. i keep telling myself this isn’t about me, and i should just get over it. that being said, it’s easier said than done. i will spare you haha.

lauren is the last of my girl cousins to be married.....meaning everyone (including my sister) is married EXCEPT me. i should get on that ‘ring by spring’ at spu, eh?? i’m sure my mother is groaning right now! all in due time. i love love love weddings. but i’m sure you knew that already. i’ll always remember my cousin lindsey at our other cousin’s weddings stuffing a ton of tissues in her purse, saying, “i’m crying because i’m happy, not because i’m sad!” and at the time i didn’t understand her....but now i totally see where she’s coming from. weddings are so beautiful....to see two people so in love and commit their lives to each other is just....it makes me speechless (and maybe a little teary-eyed....)

plus i love dressing up, cake, and dancing. it’s my idea of a perfect day. i have no idea what to expect at the reception --- i don’t think it will be quite like the Birky side with crazy dancing (jerry’s robot, anyone??) but i’m sure it will be fun nonetheless!! and we all know if there’s a michael jackson song, i can’t stay sitting.

hahaha that reminds me of prom.....”thriller” came on and about 90% of the dancefloor exits because they couldn’t get their freak on or whatever. i come running from the punchbowl or wherever i was, yelling “YEAHHHH!!!!” with my poor date and best friend (i’m sure grudgingly) following behind. i start breaking out all the thriller moves (in my 4-inch heels, nonetheless) with the select few still on the floor....while everyone else is looking at me like i have 3 heads. hahaha. all i have to say is WHATEVER, at least i had fun!!! good times.

here is the point of my blog post where i comment on the terrible fashions at the airport....fashion police at your service. unfortunately, i was so tired that i didn’t really have much of a chance to scope the scene except for the awful dad-jeans and that hideous bill cosby-esque sweater....stay tuned for my flight back on tuesday.

wow. that was a lot of writing. and not very organized, i apologize.

have a wonderful day :)

last day. and photobooth....

we decided to take a few pictures via photobooth on our last night together....these are just a sample. we were done studying....i promise ;)

i'm going to miss these girls and everyone else on my floor! a month is just too long....but i know they're all going to have so much fun at home :)

ps - i can't wait to come home tomorrow!

loveLOVElove.

tradition. and ice skating.

last night was Tradition at SPU where the whole campus gets together and celebrates christmas. there's cookie decorating, hot chocolate, music, face painting, pictures with santa, and the like. afterwards, ashton hall had went ice skating in shoreline. if you know me at all, you know i can't skate to SAVE MY LIFE and was literally pulling myself along on the side railing. how pathetic....but i did get a picture or two of me standing on the ice!

here are a few shots of the night :

1st west.....we should have won a prize for being most festive. (i mean, we had a tree and presents....come on!)

hope and i kept getting our antlers stuck together whenever we would talk to each other...note my awkward family photo pose.

here it is....i didn't fall ONCE last night. hallelujah amen. thanks to sefanit getting me off the wall :)

FINALS.

here is a photo montage of what a few hours in the library did to me......

home on tuesday.

can't wait!

WISHMELUCK.

loveLOVElove.

mega mart.

i know you all enjoy my videos (right....right??) and i realize this is a little overdue, but i couldn't resist. it is saturday night live genius!

for all you black friday shoppers out there...i'm sure you can relate. and for those who refuse to go out at 4am (i.e. ME) this is exactly WHY.

best part : he'll be playing music so loud NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM!

enjoy:

shout out : happy birthday

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY SIERRA ANNE POWELL!

[sierra scratching her first scratch ticket -- sorry you didn't win anything :(.....but the desserts made up for it right??? ;) SO good.]

i know i've said this a billion times, once in spanish, and even left you a video on your fb wall, but i don't care.

i'm sort of glad we're friends. only a little though.....nah juuussst kiddin. you're my best frannn!

i hope you're having a good birthday despite going to school/work :)

I LOVE YOU!

california, you're killing me.

dear california,

i want you to give me back 3 of my friends and my dad and brother. thank you :)

love, chandler

while i'm home for thanksgiving and counting my many blessings, i'm missing some of them. my brother wasn't able to make it up for thanksgiving unfortunately, due to the life of a CPA. so this morning, my father left at an ungodly hour to fly down and spend a few days with him. while i'm glad they have each other, i wish both of them could be at home! i can't wait til winter break when we are all reunited again :)

i also plan on spending some time with my friends while i'm home. two of my best friends are here, and i can't wait to hang out with them. my other two best friends aren't home with me :( carly is in bakersfield spending time with her stepbrothers, and ryan is staying at school in san diego since he comes home in a few weeks anyway. i want them to know they are both missed!! it just makes me that much more excited for winter break.

also, my twin from school is at home this week in burbank. hope, i miss youuuu! i am having withdrawals. my separation anxiety is going to be terrible in a couple of weeks when we're away from each other for a month! yikes. i hope you are having a wonderful time, enjoying in-n-out, the sun, and all the gloriousness southern california has to offer :)

side note : i had a wonderful thanksgiving, filled with mashed potatoes, pie, more pie, and family. i am so thankful for each and every one of you!

love love love

the wonder years.

i just finished watching the wonder years. i realize it is 12:30 am and i should be sleeping instead of blogging, but that hasn't stopped me before! thanks to my sister chelsea for letting me know what channel (hub - 121 on comcast) to find this gem of a series on. i just love it. everything about it. the humor, the time period, the innocent love, the awkwardness - all of it. enjoy this photo montage....and reminisce.

winter wonderland.

if you haven't looked outside in, oh, the last 8 hours, there is snow evverryyywheereeee. or if you don't live in washington, here you go :)

The view i woke up to :)

snow falling!

hope & I with a christmas tree on our way to fremont :)

ashton! and katie's car.

day 17.

Day 17 — Someone from your childhood

where to begin.....the person outside of my family that i have the most memories of is probably my friend, megan cozad. we met in preschool when we were 3, and although never went to the same school again, saw each other almost weekly until i moved when i was 13. she was my first best friend, and we did everything together. her parents have been divorced since i've known her but they lived in the same city (5 minutes away from each other) so many of my memories are from both of their houses. whatever we did together, from playing mall madness, trouble, sorry, stratego, and super smash bros on her stepbrother's nintendo 64, climbing trees, walking to roth's or circle K, spending all of our money on groovy girls, going on pogo-sticks, making up dance routines, watching bring it on (which was scandalous for two 11 year olds), going on AIM, trying to shut up her furby, sneaking into her stepsister's room, playing with her dogs, we always had fun. granted, we did have a lot of arguments and both had issues sharing, we got over it because our friendship meant more than that.

after i moved, we didn't keep in touch as much as either of us would've liked, due to some personal issues and the pit that is high school. here and there we'll send each other a text - and facebook is always there to find out everything else :)

i'm so glad we still are in contact and are not strangers.

as far as i know, currently she is studying to be a dental hygienist. i'm so happy for her and i wish her all the best! she deserves it.

day 21.

Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression.

alright. i'm not going to name any names because i know better. let's just say i really did not like her at first. i think it was because the first week or so of school i was playing some music she apparently didn't like and she made fun of it. i take my music very seriously so i kind of resented her for that comment. kind of started me off on the wrong foot. pathetic, right? i judged this person without really even talking to her. she has a very strong personality - and is loud. kind of the opposite of me. she loves being the center of attention, but then again, who doesn't? but once i got talking to her - i found she's actually really nice. and not the girl i thought she was. i enjoy talking to her. her laugh is so distinctive you can literally hear it from 40-50 ft away. being friends with people who are different than ourselves brings the most growth. having friends that are exactly like you isn't a bad thing - don't get me wrong - but that's so much easier than trying to get to know someone completely opposite of you. at least for me. you learn more about yourself.

that's enough of my dr. phil-inspired pep talks for today.

have a wonderful [FRIDAY] afternoon :)

day 2.

i realize this is out of order, and i don't really care, because it's my blog. i'm going to write about what i want when i want haha :)

Day 2 — Your favorite song

my favorite song -- wow. i could list SO many. so many are perfect for different occasions and emotions......but if i had to pick one, just one, it would be 'Lovefool' by The Cardigans.

how random, right? i think the reason i love it so much is because it reminds me of being a little kid. i can remember my sister listening to it and i'm sure it was on a few movie soundtracks around the same time. i don't necessarily relate to the lyrics, but i love the rhythm of the lyrics and the beat. it's also great for singing in the car and/or shower -- a must for any of my favorite songs :)

"Lovefool"

Dear, I fear we're facing a problem
You love me no longer, I know
And maybe there is nothing
That I can do to make you do
Mama tells me I shouldn't bother
That I ought to stick to another man
A man that surely deserves me
But I think you do!

So I cry, I pray and I beg

Love me love me
Say that you love me
Fool me fool me
Go on and fool me
Love me love me
Pretend that you love me
Leave me leave me
Just say that you need me
Love me love me
Say that you love me
Leave me leave me
Just say that you need me
I can't care 'bout anything but you...

Lately I have desperately pondered,
Spent my nights awake and I wonder
What I could have done in another way
To make you stay
Reason will not lead to solution
I will end up lost in confusion
I don't care if you really care
As long as you don't go

So I cry, I pray, and I beg

Love me, love me
Say that you love me
Fool me, fool me
Go on and fool me
Love me, love me
Pretend that you love me
Leave me, leave me
Just say that you need me
So I cry, and I pray for you to
Love me, love me
Say that you love me
Leave me, leave me
Just say that you need me
I can't care 'bout anything but you...

Anything but you...

Love me, love me (Say that you love me)
Fool me, fool me (Go on and fool me)
Love me, love me (I know that you need me)
I can't care 'bout anything but you..

challenge.

i stole this from hope -- who just recently got a blog. (i'm think i'm rubbing off on her ;) )

i'm not one to post my personal, deep feelings where everyone can see it, so this is kind of a risk - it may not even be that deep but i'm going to give it a try. here goes nothing!

Day 1 — Your Best Friend

Day 2 — Your favorite song

Day 3 — Your parents

Day 4 — Your sibling (or closest relative)

Day 5 — Your dreams

Day 6 — A stranger

Day 7 — Your Ex-boyfriend

Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend

Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet

Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to

Day 11 — A Deceased person you wish you could talk to

Day 12 — The person you hate most/caused you a lot of pain

Day 13 — Someone you wish could forgive you

Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from

Day 15 — The person you miss the most

Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country

Day 17 — Someone from your childhood

Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be

Day 19 — Someone that pesters your mind—good or bad

Day 20 — The one that broke your heart the hardest

Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression

Day 22 — Someone you want to give a second chance to

Day 23 — The age of your first kiss

Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory

Day 25 — The person you know that is going through the worst of times

Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to

Day 27 — The friendliest person you knew for only one day

Day 28 — Someone that changed your life

Day 29 — The person that you want tell everything to, but too afraid to

Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror

I Didn't Ask For This!!

i laugh EVERY SINGLE TIME i watch this....it's so funny. i know i've posted this on my facebook, but for those who don't have facebook (ie mom & dad) this is for you. just think of antoine dodson and the bed intruder..."well obviously, we have a rapist in lincoln park!" the auto-tune just makes this complete.

delicious.

i am craving peppermint bark right now. actually, i've been craving it all day....and with these pictures, how could you not?! i just added a christmas station on my pandora, and am getting in the christmas spirit! even though my last post was about thanksgiving -- i couldn't help myself. enjoy drooling over these like i have been :)

thankful.

at the risk of sounding corny, as thanksgiving approaches, i'm taking time to look around and appreciate the whos and whats in my life. as i'm sure many people have done on their blogs/facebooks/tumblrs, etc. i'm going to list one for each day of november thus far.

here we go.....

(in no particular order)

nov 1. my family - my parents, brother & sister especially. i appreciate each of you SO much.

nov 2. my friends, old & new - i miss my old friends terribly, but am so happy to be making new friends also :)

nov 3. school - higher education is making me better.....or is it bitter? haha kidding. i need this humbleness to become better. if i got As all the time, what would be the point of going to college??

nov 4. going to a christian school - i love how whipping out your bible in the middle of class to reference something doesn't make people feel uneasy, or cause death glares. i am so thankful for that alone.

nov 5. pandora.com - what would i do without my beatles station? or my 80s pop station? or my vampire weekend station? it's always on in the background.

nov. 6 living in community - i've never lived with people close to my age. which means i don't really know how to share or particularly like it, but i'm learning. you learn so much more about people when you live with them and see them constantly.

nov. 7 trying new things - i figure this is college, i'm never going to have an experience like this again in life, why not make the best of it? who cares what other people think? i'm going to make the most of it.

nov. 8 walking - everywhere. as much as i hate not having a car at times, i actually like walking places. whether it's going to queen anne, or fremont, or just around campus, i like walking and the sights i see on my way. plus it's exercise - so no workout room for me (yet...)

nov. 9 the desserts in gwinn - yiiiiikes. even if the food isn't great, the desserts are ALWAYS good. WHY?! that is not okay. my sweet tooth is far larger than my stomach - which is an issue.

nov. 10 pumpkin spice lattes - let's be honest, i'm a sucker for anything pumpkin-flavored. i get this literally everytime i go to starbucks all fall, because that's the only time it's offered. i can't get enough!

nov. 11 two weeks until i come home for thanksgiving break - can't wait!

LOVE.

grape lady falls

i had to share this video...a girl from my USEM class told me about it. even if you've seen it before, it's hilarious. note the sounds she makes after she falls over.....too funny.

enjoy :)

starstruck.

well, i am practicing my "productive procrastination" and blogging to avoid my homework (reading 40+ pages....ew) let's recap the weekend.....

you might be wondering what the title of my post means....i'll tell you. on friday night, hope, her friend from home, lisa, me and two other girls from our floor (coincidentally) went to a Tyrone Wells concert. it was seriously one of the best concerts i've ever been to. not that i've been to a ton....but still. i really hadn't heard of him until hope played his music from across the hall and it drifted into my room and i had to hear more. one of his songs is on one of our bathroom mix CDs and i really liked it. one of his newer songs 'more', is on the radio currently and i like it but i never realized that he sang it. ANYWAYS....the concert was at Neumos which is sort of by seattle u....i think. i went to a kate voegele concert there my junior year but had no idea to get there. our bus route told us to get on the 13, then switch to the 2 and then walk for 10 minutes. sounds easy enough, right? wrong. we got off late on the first bus, then had to walk about 6 or 7 blocks to find the 2. we got there JUST in time....by sprinting. there were some crazies on the bus - i could write a blog post about that alone (just think long, dirty fingernails on a man that should have known better & a man talking to himself that reeked of garbage, alcohol, and weed at the same time) we sort of guessed when we got off of the 2. we ended up around seattle u, which i had never seen. i think we were in the capitol hill neighborhood? we walked for several more blocks until we finally found East Pike - the street where Neumos is located. i have never been so happy to see something before in my life. we got there around 7:15, and the concert started at 8. we actually made it with time to spare. praise the lord! tyrone didn't come on until 9:30. the opening acts were Crown Point, which was a male duo from portland. they were pretty good....the next act was a guy named Andrew Belle, who I LOVED. i'm actually listening to his cd right now. then, finally, tyrone came on. If you haven't heard of his music, it's kind of a combination of Jack Johnson and Matt Nathanson. In the middle of his set, his wife came up and sang a few songs with him - it was so adorable. they have an album together! Tyrone gives me hope for the male species in the world. He is so positive and respectful of women and just ahhhh. amazing. He is such a nice guy too - he did a meet and greet - so i got to get his autograph AND a picture w/ him - double bonus. He's pretty noticable - bald and 6'4".....so if you ever see him in a crowd you will recognize him haha.

speaking of seeing someone in a crowd.....

the next day, my mother came up for Mom's Day at SPU. it was so fun :) afterwards, we decided to go down to Pike's Place. As we got to the part right before where they throw the fish, I saw a guy that made me do a double take. Could it be.....Seth Meyers from SNL??? Yes. it was. i was 2 feet away from him. That was the thickest part of the crowd, and as much as i wanted to turn around and follow him, i couldn't. It was a saturday after all, so for a second i thought it wasn't him because he would have to be in new york for saturday night live. then i remembered they're on a two-week break. it was definitely him.

it's so weird to see people in real life that you only see on tv - you kind of feel like you're in a dream.....a very cool dream :)

here are some shots from the concert - plus one of seth meyers if you don't know who he is (weekend update anyone??) enjoy :)

two words....

.....SPUD shots.

last night, we had our SPU Directory shots, and after much deliberation, we chose to go with 'high school stereotypes' as our theme. (2 floors stole our 'nerd' motif & i VETOED dressing like a boy) the legit picture will surface sometime soon, hopefully, but to tide you over, here is an amateur shot.

on the left, we have my roommate, Victoria, as a chola/ghetto girl. (please note the taped-up brows, earrings, bandana & lip liner sans lipstick!) Then there is me, who is 'emo' and or/goth (all black, no exceptions) and Hope, who was a cheerleader (can you tell she was one in high school? :) ) We had quite a range of stereotypes - everything from 'jock' to 'nerd' and 'cheerleader' to 'skater'. fun times were had by all!

side note --- i remember being in elementary school looking at the SPUD shots when my sister was in college and i could not believe they let the students wear WHATEVER they wanted to for a picture that was to go in the yearbook. and now, it doesn't even seem strange....