Been a While

Alrighty, it's been a while since my last blog post =P In a nusthell, I've been baking, hiking, and gardening!

standing on the highest mountain of Los Angeles County! 10,068 ft elevation- Mount San Antonio (Mt. Baldy)

The 11+ mile hike took the entire day but it was so fun! 

baby corn! tomatoes and cucumbers at a distance

natural energy bars made with dates and mixed nuts!

I'll update with more pics soon! :)

Mini-Getaway to Catalina Island

Friday was my day off work so my brother and I took off to Catalina Island for the day.  We got there at 7am and strolled around before having some coffee and a bagel. 

Apparently, no one is up before 10am =)

Avalon Theater

aww pet cemetery

decided to hike up Wrigley Terrace Road...ended up above that burgundy house, swinging from the tree on the left hehe

gorgeous view

that swing was quite uncomfortable haha

i wish that were me!

took off around 4pm and we were back to Long Beach by 5pm

Sat & Sun: didn't do much, was in a blah mood...managed a trip to Trader Joe's, got my mom some flowers and workout gear for Mother's Day, and survived another  Jillian Michaels workout :)

A Quote that Stuck

"We're all mirrors that way, projecting and seeing the things we don't like in ourselves onto other people, then blaming them or attacking them for it...if you pay attention, you will see that what you defend against so vehemently is the issue you are struggling with personally.  You are so afraid of your own feelings of [e.g.] neediness that you bury them, repress them, and silence them- and then they creep out as projections onto other people." - Jillian Michaels in her new book, Unlimited 


This probably sounds pathetic but I started bawling as soon as I read this.  I never made that connection and now things seem to make so much more sense.  I'm currently have some issues with my mom and so this statement hit hard.  I realized a lot of her insecurities have passed onto me even though I deny it.  I'm thinking back to all the times she's made me feel weak or less than and now realizing my grandmother does the exact same thing to her.  Now, I'm thinking of the things that make me tick (in others) and realizing it's just my fear of that very thing manifesting itself into anger or other emotions.  I have to come to terms with my own issues.  It's a tough task.  It's easy to point out flaws in others but it's very tough to look inward and see what the root of that problem may be.  It's my Friday off work so I'm going to run some errands and clean the house but I'm also going to spend the day reflecting on my behaviors.  I hope everyone has a great day.  Happy Good Friday and Happy Earth Day! 
Here's a pic of Machu Picchu, Peru ...was there last year, ah how time flies! I wish I were there now =) 


(some random ones for kicks =P)

view from our hostal, central Cuzco

ah, beloved Machu Picchu

site of one of the bloodiest battles between the Incas and Spanish

Sacsayhuaman, Cuzco, Peru

feeding some llamas in Cuzco

in a church that houses the largest painting in South America! 

lomo saltado 

floating islands (yea, seriously- floating)

I have an itch...

for another road trip! Last time, we went to Joshua Tree National Park and um it was a disaster cuz my dog behaved badly (read: broken car window, gash on his leg).  I was looking at old pics from Sequoia National Forest from last year and I want to go back and hit the rooooadd! Here are some great pics from our last trip =)


We are planning on conquering Half Dome in Yosemite National Park in late July so we have to take at least 2 long practice hikes :) can't wait for those...


ok back to Biggest Loser and my workout!

didn't wanna get out of the tent hehe was busy catching up on magazines

giant sequoias ugh these things are gorgeous!

it began to rain so we had to pack up the tent and go :( but we did see a nice rainbow on the way out! 

Vegas Makeup =D

Sooo, I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend and I decided to play around w/make up haha  I was thinking of doing a dramatic smokey eye but I ended up with something that sorta matched my dress ...probably going to play w/more looks this week hehe 

 front of the dress :)

The dress is from Guess by Marciano 

got it on sale! hehe $49

Sorry the pictures are so grainy, I took them w/my iphone hehe

make up: 

foundation primer: clean slate by tarte

foundation: make up forever hd foundation #128

" #127 as concealer

blush: make up forever eyeshadow/blush # 75 neon pink

eyebrows filled with with charcoal brown by MAC

lipstick: make up forever Mat #1

eyeliner: l'oreal infallible never fail eyeliner in carbon black

eyeshadows: makeup forever #58 dark raspberry

kat von d eyeshadow ace of spades from the LOVE AND FURY true romance eyeshadow palette

it's a deep, sparkly purple

mascara: l'oreal voluminous million lashes