little tink...

My sister's friend had to get rid of her hamster. Being the animal-lovers that we are, we were delighted to add another addition to the family/zoo.
I'm not a big fan of dwarf hamsters (they're bitey). I like teddy bear hamsters more (you can actually hold them). When we first got Tinkerbell (Tink, for short, although I call her Tinky-Dink a lot) she did nibble a little. But surprisingly, she never really chomped down on my finger. Now she's used to our smells and knows that biting = flick, and no biting = treat. I will wear gloves once in a while if my hands smell of food, so then I don't have to worry about the biting. :)
She's a very cute little ham ham, and we're very happy to have her!

merry christmas...

~ Merry Christmas Everyone! ~
I hope your holiday is merry and bright, and filled with love and laughter.
{By the way, here's my SOTW! Thought I'd forget on Christmas? Nay.}

movie review: sherlock holmes: a game of shadows...

Yep, definitely a must see...seriously...go see it.
Here's a piece of what you could be missing if you don't go. Or - if you're like me - you wait 3 months for Netflix. Don't wait. It's so worth your $8. Plus, if you go to the first showing of the day, it's only $5.50! So now you have no excuses. Go see it. Soon. Like tomorrow.

my inner geek emerges...

I can't tell you how excited I am for the third and final Batman movie to come out in theaters. Batman has always been, and will always be, my fave superhero.
Having a trilogy of movies made by the amazing talent of Christopher Nolan has really improved the overall quality and seriousness of the Batman character. Because of the previous movies by Bob Kane, the generalized public view of Batman became "cheesy" and "silly." Yet Christopher Nolan gave Batman a comeback, and I feel that his movies have reflected this...journey of the character - his "rise" to fame, if you will.
The overall feel of this last movie is much darker than the other two, being that Batman's life is at much higher stakes then the previous movies. His rival, Bane, is far more superior than him both physically and mentally. Yet having the introduction of Catwoman may change the course of outcome - i.e., he might not die. I'm so excited to see how everything plays out, and I know CN won't disappoint.

{The new trailer of TDKR just came out this weekend...check it out here!}

a disney christmas...

My family and I went to Disneyland these past few days for my Dad's birthday. It was a really run trip. We were able to get park hoppers this time, so I was able to ride Ariel(my fave princess)'s new ride - which was super cute - for the first time. It had been years since I was last in C.A., so it was really fun to go on hollywood tower of terror and screamin' again. I also saw the World of Color show for the first time. SO cool! Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
At one point, my Dad and Sister had to go re-park the car (out of the hotel parking, into the parking garage) so my Mom and I were kinda free to do whatever. We decided to see Aladdin's Musical, thinking that it was only about 30min long. Turned out to be a full-on musical going for almost an hour. Yet another highlight of the trip. I've always liked musicals, so make it a Disney musical and I'm in love.
Definitely one of the best parts of Disneyland in the winter: the Christmas lights...




Everything is so bright and cheery! The non-stop Christmas music kinda helps too. :)
It was a wonderful trip! Now, time to tackle the giant pile of gifts that are slowly eating away at my floor space. Let the wrapping begin!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas {sotw}...

Yep, it's another MB SOTW! Yay! I know how excited you all are...
I know I've been lacking in posts lately. Really, I have no excuse. All I can say is that my life's pretty uneventful at the moment (which isn't a bad thing), and I'll try my best to post more interesting stuff. Good? Sweet.
So, I've pretty much been listening to MB's new album non-stop for the past couple of weeks, and I'm not tired of it yet!
This song really sticks in my mind ALL day long. A timeless, classic Christmas song that I'll always love.

This week's SOTW: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, by Michael Buble.

rolling in the deep - b.a. {sotw}...

I know I said I was only going to have Christmas songs for my SOTW's this month, but I can't get a certain song out of my head! Can I have two SOTW's this week?...Yes?...Cool.
I love a lot of Boyce Avenue's songs, but I think I like their rendition of Adele's Rolling In The Deep the most. His voice compliments the key so well - and vice versa.

So, my first SOTW this week: Rolling In The Deep, sung by Boyce Avenue.

chocolate pudding & sniffles...

My Dad and I went to MBA last night for a Member's Night Dinner and shopping afterwards (it was 20% off all merchandise in their stores). The food was very tasty. My fave, of course, was dessert: some sort of chocolate pudding stuff (technical term). There was a tiny hint of fennel, which I could have done without. But otherwise, it was delicious.
I started feeling under the weather on the drive home, and today I have a cold - no bueno. I had a lot of plans this weekend, but now I'm having to decide what stuff I really want to do and who I'm going to see. I always seem to get sick during the busiest times of the year. Oh well. As long as I have my computer, some hot tea, and a warm blanket I'm all good.

mr. chew...

Mr. Chew (short for Chewbacca) is getting old. At 16, he's pretty deaf and almost blind, but that doesn't stop him from being adorable! I mean, look at that face! He's so stinking cute.
Even though he's stinky, and can sometimes be a pain, I could never hate him. Sometimes he runs into a wall (sad but hysterical), and after trying your best not to burst into laughter, all you can do is pick him up and love him.
Such a cutie. So blessed to have him.

white christmas {sotw}...

It's time...for Christmas songs!!! *fanfare*

One of the best parts of Christmas, in my opinion, is the music. It's what makes the season feel like Christmas - even if it's 75 degrees outside.
So, to get in as much Christmas spirit as possible, I will be doing Christmas songs for my SOTW from now until Jan! Yay! (for all you Christmas song haters: too bad for you)
I'm kicking it off with a song from MB's new album. I think I'll be listening to this CD everyday from now until Christmas, I love it so much. Classic, smooth, and warm. Just how Christmas music should be.

What better way to start the season than with my SOTW: White Christmas, by Michael Buble.

tightrope {sotw}...

We've had seriously weird weather in SLO the past week, or so. 80 one day, rainy and 60's a couple days later. Today's rainy, which is all good with me, especially since it's fall. I want wool hat and scarf weather!
When the weather's cold, I love to stay at home with all kinds of snuggle factors: hot cocoa, tea, fuzzy blankets (no snuggies), etc. I also use the time at home to spruce up my room, since I never clean it on nice beach days, which is pretty much everyday in SLO.
Whenever I clean I listen to my "Work" playlist on my computer, which mostly consists of smooth but upbeat music with a little pop thrown in to keep my energy up (you need all the energy you can get when tackling a massive mountain of receipts to file). This leads me to my SOTW...
I just got Janelle Monae's most recent album from the library. I'm not a huge fan of R&B, but her songs are so just so catchy! It's hard not to get up and do a little pop + lock action when you listen to her songs...yeah, like I know how to p+l. Ha! Funny.
I've definitely heard her songs before, but I never knew who sang it. I heard her name in an interview with MB, looked her up, and low and behold it was her!

My fave song right now (this SOTW): Tightrope, by Janelle Monae.

mood jellies...

My Sis bought a jellyfish aquarium for my birthday, and I just set it up a few days ago. It's actually a really cute aquarium! There are three little gummy jellies and the tank has a few jets that gently blow little areas of the water, one at a time. The system has changing neon lights too, which just adds to the coolness. Plus, it automatically turns off after 4 hours of use (a great nightlight for a kid) so I don't have to worry about it. Super cool gift, Sis. Good job. :)

macgyver pizza...

I made pizza the other night, and I had forgotten to buy meat to go onto the pizza! I couldn't just make a meatless pizza (I'm so NOT a vegetarian). So what do I put on? Yep, a Slim Jim. And you know what? It actually tasted really yummy! A little crunchy, but not bad at all. I was proud of my Macgyver-esc pizza ingenuity and skills.

mi morena {sotw}...

So, my Mom and I just watched JG's Live at the Greek DVD from...2004?...I think? Anyways, it's pretty old. Josh looks and sounds so young, even though it was only about 7 years ago. I guess some singer's voices and appearances change that quickly. :)
Unbeknownst to us, this DVD had a few songs that my Mom and I had never heard Josh sing before! (shocking, I know) We were both ecstatic and bummed that we hadn't watched the DVD until now.
One of the songs we hadn't heard before was Mi Morena. A beautiful rich song with a smooth melody that's really easy to hum - an immediate bonus since my Mom and I tend to sing/whistle/hum all of J's songs.

So my SOTW this week: Mi Morena, by Josh Groban.

lots of pins...

I just acquired (nice word, right?) for myself a Pinterest account. It's kinda weird how you are put on a "waiting list" instead of just acquiring the account the same day...oh well, it was worth the wait -- about 4 days.
Pinterest is a site for people to "pin" and "re-pin" photos/videos under certain categories. It's almost a crafty or artsy search engine with an easy "sharing" idea. It's hard to explain, but it's a great way to procrastinate and waste extra time (which I've had a lot of lately).

They have a ton of variety, such as:
Artistic Photos

Source: luxefinds.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Cute Animals

Source: flickr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Fun Photography

Source: 74limelane.com.au via Lauren on Pinterest

Places/Outdoors

Source: tumblr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Comedic Photos

Source: weheartit.com via Lauren on Pinterest

...and my fave...

Source: joshgroban.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Source: fanpop.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Celebs!...yep, I've made a whole board for them.

So, now I've found a whole new site to waste my time on! Yay! ;)

someone like you {sotw}...

This song from Adele's most recent album has been playing on the radio a lot recently. Not sure why it's so popular now, but it is -- not that I'm complaining. :)
Because it's been played continuously, it of course gets stuck in my head, which is why it is my SOTW this week.

So, my SOTW: Someone Like You, by Adele.

petunia...

I finally snapped a few photos of my "new" car (new to me, old to the rest of the world)! Check her out!...




I don't really name my stuff, but for some reason, I keep referring to the car as a "she." So I might just have to give her a name so I don't keep calling her "her." I'm leaning towards Petunia. It just popped up in my head and I think I'm going to stick with it.
I'm driving Petunia (haha) everyday, and I'm starting to get the feel of the stick -- "starting" being the keyword here. I still jolt and bounce around but it's slowly getting better...slowly.

hollywood {sotw}...

So, as you might have already read in my previous post, I have been VERY busy driving all over the place this past week. Because I have been very busy, I haven't really had time to listen to music, which means I didn't really have a SOTW this week (gasp!). But, have no fear, MB is here!...yeah, cheesy. Moving on.
My SOTW this week is Hollywood. I had never heard MB sing this song until I looked him up on the library website (weird, I know). I like the music video a lot. You can really see his quirky personality really come out.

So, my SOTW: Hollywood, by Michael Buble.

busy busy...

This week has been kind of insane. It's one of those "feels like I haven't been home in weeks but it's only been a few days" kind of few days.
I had an appt. down in LA early Thursday morning, so my Dad and I planned to go down to San Diego early Wednesday morning, spend the day at SeaWorld and stay the night, then go to LA from there. Through a turn of events, my appt. was canceled, but we already made major plans so we couldn't just not go! So my Dad and I had a mini-vaca and went to SD as planned and came home Thursday night (technically Friday morning). I'll post more about SeaWorld tomorrow. :)
My Dad and I have been looking for a car for me for a while now. We wanted a Mazda Miata because, well, it's a cute car for one thing (haha) and my Dad has been going to auto-x races for a while now, and we decided he needs a race car. So the deal was that we get the car for me, then when it's time for auto-x Dad will borrow it for the day...not a bad deal. Plus, my school is only about 1/2 of a mile away from the track. Perfect. :)
Last week, we finally found a Miata that looked good and was in great condition. So we went down to SB today to check it out. Overall, the car looks great. There's a little problem with the AC and coolant, and it NEEDS new paint (that's ok cause I was going to get it re-painted anyways), but it's still a great car. Because there's something off with the coolant/belt, we didn't want to chance driving it home in the warmer weather. Luckily, the previous owner was able to get it towed from SB to Los Osos for free! Yay! Here's the car in all it's towed glory:
Ain't it adorable? I can't wait to start fixing it up. The only problem is that it's a stick. I can't drive stick. So my Dad will have to teach me soon, but I'm all good with that. :)
I'll have more to updates on the car soon!

the lady is a tramp {sotw}...

An interesting combo that actually works really well...don't judge 'til you listen...and try to ignore the blue hair, haha.

My SOTW this week: The Lady is a Tramp, by Tony Bennett ft. Lady Gaga.
{You can grab a copy of Bennett's new CD here!}

19 and counting...

Monday was my birthday, and since it wasn't one of the "momentous" or "milestone" birthdays (19th) I decided to keep it low-key and relaxed. Plus, I was tired from the week before, so I knew that I didn't want to do anything too extreme...like skydiving (still want to try that someday). Still, even having planned a "low-key" birthday, it turned out to be pretty busy - a good busy, to be sure.
After dropping off the kid's - that I had babysat the night before - at school, I had my weekly Gyro appt. Then Padre and I went to Nike to buy me new tennis shoes (I only had old dude shoes that I have had since I was about 14...I was in dire need). Then me and the fam went to Morro Bay and did a Sub-Sea Tour which was totally fun, plus we were the only ones on the boat which was super nice. Here are a few photos from the tour...






The boat had a lower deck with 2 windows so that you can see into the water. Because it's the end of the summer, the water's still pretty murky, so we weren't able to see much. I hope to go sometime in the winter and see if there's much of a difference. The tour itself lasted about 45min long (which was plenty) around the inner bay. After that, we went home for gifts and then went to dinner at Mondeo's. SO yummy! I get their turkey avocado club wrap. Seriously the best wrap I've ever had, oh my gosh. After dinner, we came home and watched Toy Story 3 (I hadn't seen it yet) and ate SLO donuts.
Overall, it was a fun and not-too-busy day. A perfect low-key birthday.

arms {sotw}...

I've been listening to Christina Perri's album lovestrong. everyday for the past week. I heard her song Arms on the radio and immediately loved it. When I got home, I looked up the album on the library's site and "requested" it. In two days, I had the album playing in the car via my iPod.
Many of the songs on the album or more melancholy, but there a few that I love - like Arms. Her songs are smooth and warm, many only having vocals with guitar accompaniment. The perfect album for chilling in your room on the computer, or sitting in front of the fire with some tea.
For my SOTW, I choose Arms. It's my fave song of the album, although Penguin is cute too. :)

So, my SOTW: Arms, by Christina Perri.

man, it's hot...

It has been SUPER hot in SLO the past few days (upper 90's), which means it's pretty darn hot in Los Osos too (upper 80's). So what do CA peeps do when it's hot? That's right. Hit the beach! So yesterday my Dad and I put on the sunscreen, grabbed our sandals (well, I'm pretty much always wearing sandals, so Dad grabbed his) and drove to Morro Stands Beach.







It was the perfect beach weather: a cool breeze with the warm sun. Plus the tide was pretty low, so we were able to look at the tide pools (my fave part of the beach). We also found some sort of alien species on the beach (seriously I have no idea what it was). I wanted to take it home and dissect it (don't judge), but some kids probably took it before we walked back that way (darn kids getting in the way of science). Oh well, next time.
It was such a gorgeous day on the beach. I'm so blessed to live near the ocean. Now I just need to get my SCUBA license, then I'll be set!