Happy (Almost) Black History Month!!!

I sure do love the month of February!

It's technically the beginning of the year so I still feel "fresh". 

It's the "month of love" where I get chocolates in the mail from my Grandpa. 

And.... it's Black History Month. 

This year,  Black History Month is extra special for a couple of reasons. 

1. It's the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation

2. It's the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

3. We are celebrating the 2nd term of President Barack Obama

How cool is that, people?!

To ring in Black History Month, I went to a local Worship and Celebration event sponsored by Visions of Hope. My favorite parts were the choir that sang a medley of church songs, a dialogue (mini play)  between President Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas, the teenager who played Amazing Grace on his trumpet!, and an up and coming artist, Troy Anthony, who sang a couple songs about Victory. 

It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, that's for sure. 

It's coming...

Black History Month will be here in 5 days y'all :)

2013 "Resolutions"

I'm not one for resolutions because they usually don't work out 

(and we all know that I'm not the best with disappointment/failure). So, I've created a "Things To Do in 2013" list. My overall goal is to be a better person. I wake up each morning, say a prayer and declare that it will be a great day!

My List
1. Donate Blood. 
Once would be great, but more than once would be awesome! I've been in the country for a full year now and that's the only thing I was waiting for. And besides donating because it's the right thing to do, I need to find out my blood type!
2. Finish my Master's Degree. 
I haven't read this much since...well, since I can remember. I'm on track to finish in June. Pray that I can keep pressing forward and grind it out.
3. Sign up to donate bone marrow.
This has been on my "to-do " list for a couple years now. It might be painful and require a hospital stay, but it's the least that I can do for someone. We're talking life and death.
4. Read my Bible more, like daily.
I love devotionals and Bible Study's but haven't been in one for a few years. I've been thirsting for a good study so my friend and I went to the bookstore to search for a study we would both love. We found How to hear from God by Joyce Meyer and it's already been purchased and shipped. I can't wait to dig in and start our study.
5. Do all of those things (listed below) on a daily basis. My quest is to be a better person. And that's what I'm working on.

So there you have it. My New Year's Resolutions  
"Things To Do in 2013" list. 

P.S. I think I'm doing a great job on these things so far :)

2012 in Review

I love the idea of posting about my year, through pictures. These memories (and so many more I hold near and dear) are hard to narrow down but I've tried to limit myself to just one or two pictures per month...here it goes!

JANUARY

{NYE in NYC with my friends from SAS...and then Boston, NH, RI and CT}

FEBRUARY

{Impromptu trip to Utah. Drove through snow. All by myself}

MARCH

{Bridal Shower for our childhood friend, Erin (and Parker)}

APRIL

{Gambled for the first time in Vegas. And won Moneyy}

MAY

{Impromptu trip to Az with Pizza Hut for the first time in prob 10 years, yumm}

JUNE

{LMFAO Concert}

JULY

{Vegas for the 4th aka free drinks all weekend long}

AUGUST

{Yellowstone with SAS friends}

SEPTEMBER 

{Started grad school at UCSB}

OCTOBER

{Hosted a Fall Party and went to the Pumpkin Patch}

NOVEMBER

{Watched these two brothers of mine play CIF football. GO Spartans}

DECEMBER

{Joshua Tree for a quick weekend getaway}

 It's been a great year with so many memories. So many positives. So many lessons learned. I'm so blessed and happy. Just happy. Thank you, everyone, for making 2012 a super year. Cheers to 2013!

Photo Credits: Ben Sherman, Christina Baglas 

Finally...

I'm back blogging. I have been thinking about this post for a couple weeks now but just haven't had the time to write. You see, I have been busy with school (which kicked my butt this quarter) but now I am done and can breathe again.

In the midst of it all, I managed a weekend away with my friend Christina to go to Joshua Tree National Park and visit friends in Palm Springs!

Canon Powershot self timer at work..works like a charm & never fails!

Christina and I went on a couple "hikes"

Peace Sign! The universal, "Hi Mom" pose

And we got to spend some time with our friends Susan and Renee in the desert! We experienced a little bit of their Desert Princess life, not a bad way of living :)

At the Clubhouse after lunch at Leon's

Group Shot: Downtown Palm Springs

We saw Marilyn Monroe's underwear ;)

Christmas:
I have purchased zero Christmas gifts thus far BUT I received one today!! Thanks to my favorite sister thinking oh-so cleverly about what to get me for Christmas, I found a little package at my doorstep this evening. And it couldn't be more perfect for me. Included in my box: Sample perfume, nail polish, face mask, super cute travel ziplock,  eye shadow and gift card to rent the runway . 

My First Birch Box. 

FABULOUS!!

Work/School:
This combo gave me a run for my money this past quarter but I survived and couldn't more happy about it. My first quarter is officially done. I am 1/3 of the way through grad school. I have a three week break, which I will soak up and savor each and every lazy day, early night in and pressing of my snooze button. 

Oh yeah, I'm praying all of my hard work pays off with straight A's. I already have one on the record (which I called my mom about with pure excitement!). 

Fantastic Four

Me and my siblings, that is. 

These three are some of my best friends. 

These are the people I can rely on when I need an ear willing to listen and open arms to hug. 

Over the years, unfortunately, life happens: Kristen went off to college, I went off to college, Kristen moved back to OC, then she moved back to AZ, we missed birthday parties and graduations. 

BUT we are as close as ever and I couldn't be more proud of my sibs!

Here are some pictures of us over the years... 

Feb 1998
Me, Kristen and Lenny at our home-style photo shoot

Dec 2006
Kristen, Lewis, Lenny and me at our Christmas  dinner

June 2010
Kristen, Lewis, me and Lenny at my college graduation ceremony

February 2012
Lenny, Lewis, me and Kristen

May 2012
Me, Lenny and Kristen

 Oh yeah, and these little brothers of mine are in the CIF Championship game at Angels Stadium Tomorrow!!! Go Spartans!!!

November 2012
Lenny, Kristen, me and Lewis after their semi-final 34-33 victory over Tustin HS

Hugs and Gratitude

1. This is so special! I used to be the person who didn't like others touching me or getting too close lol Now I look back and just laugh. That's so silly. A hug is a simple but touching, literally haha, gesture that one can give. Not to mention it takes almost no time at all. So, I'll be hugging my loved ones this Thanksgiving break, that's for sure!

2. Don't you just love this quote?! It speaks to anyone, anywhere and that's the best part. Things to remember (and I say this mostly as a reminder to myself): 

Live without regrets or "what ifs" 

When the opportunity arises, express appreciation and thankfulness

Be kind, always

Smile, you never know who's day you'll make

And to sum it all up, here's another goody...

"Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly"

I'm Back...Again

I know that you are all thinking, "Kayla, you have said this so many times!" But this time I am for real. Like for real, for real. So allow me to catch you up on my life since be the beginning of October

I hosted a "Fall Party" where we dressed in fall-like clothes, ate fall-type pinterest creations and went to the pumpkin patch. Justin and I may or may not have gotten lost in the corn maze for over an hour (thank you, high school student worker for showing us the way out!).

Spent the weekend with Pops!

We ate Randy's (nasty) donuts, got the car washed, handled tenant duties (where we state our names as Michael and Kim, long story) and went shopping at Nordstrom rack!!

Took these two SA's to a NCAA Leadership Forum in Dallas, Tx

We feasted on TONS of food

 The NCAA does a fabulous job of making sure that your every need is taken care of. I'm talking about EVERYTHING! I called and talked to a travel agent to arrange our flights, they held the forum at an awesome-over-the-top nice hotel, my room was like a penthouse, the food was never ending, and they created a "fun zone" for the students in a huge ball room (we're talking arcade machines,  ping pong tables, pool tables, tv with couches and stadium seating, basketball hoops, "just dance" and wii games, simulated driving games and more...

Filled out my ballot and checked the box for Barack Obama!!

Took that bad boy to the poll and got my sticker :)

Traveled with a team that takes their shirts off when eating as to not spill on themselves

Got great seats for the Cal/Oregon football game

Good thing we left after Cal scored (for their last time in the game)! Perfect Timing!!

Many more posts are in my/your future. Partly because I like doing this as a study break and partly because I'm determined to succeed at this blogging thing.