Hello Finals Week

Sarah, Stephanie, Mika, and I out Black Friday shopping.

Somehow, finals week is already here. In this past month, school has been crazy with all the final papers and end of the semester finals. It was great to be able to go home for Thanksgiving break and spend it with my family. And yes, I even went out to go Black Friday shopping at 11 PM Thanksgiving night with my friends from church. However, it was definitely our last year as it was freezing and we are well, getting old. (I normally try to be in bed between 11 and 12 pm!)

Morgan and Kate visiting Heidi and I
at Celebrate Christmas!

Somehow, I ended up celebrating my 21st birthday. I felt as if my birthday had just snuck up on me. I legitimately did not realize that it was my birthday until my friend reminded me a couple days beforehand. Normally I'm all about celebrating my birthday. I ended up being stuck in the car driving back from Northern California back to Los Angeles for 8 1/2 hours. Normally it takes me about 6 hours, but of course with the holiday traffic, it took much longer.

All last week, it was crazy with Celebrate Christmas rehearsals, but overall, the performances this past weekend were great! We had 3 concerts and although it was tiring, it's hard to believe that it was the last Celebrate Christmas concerts I would ever be a part of.  Celebrate Christmas is probably my favorite choir concerts of the year.  My family comes from out of town to hear us all perform and the production is something that you would not believe!

Before I close out this post, I just have to share 2 things! This weekend when my family was all in town we headed out to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles to go to the Japanese American National Museum where a couple of my relatives work. It was really cool going through the exhibits and hearing my own relatives talk about their experiences.  While we were in Little Tokyo, we were able to go walk through the little shops and we came across a Macaroon shop! Look how beautiful these are!

Via Instagram

Oh, and can we talk about how awesome this birthday cake my family got me?!

Via Instagram

Exciting News!

Every May, Bel Canto goes on a music tour.  This year we will be going to Northern California (the day after I graduate!) and we will be there for almost two weeks.

HOWEVER...

I am so excited to say that we have officially announced that Bel Canto will be going to Poland on a Music Missions Trip!  Myself and some AWESOME ladies will be leading the choir on this international adventure.  I am so excited to see what God has planned for us as we begin making plans and get all of the logistics together.

So, here's a few basic facts about Poland to give you an idea about the missions trip I will be going on.

• 97.8% speak Polish
• 89.8% Roman Catholic (75% Practicing)
• 38,383,809 people in Poland (38,041,430 people in California)
• Members of the European Union: signifies political and economic stability

Bel Canto will be partnering with Next Generation Missions.  This group takes choirs to Poland, Jamaica, Scotland, and across the USA.  Their desire is to help students see the mission field and to allow students to deepen their understanding of God's calling for their lives as musicians.

Time Flies...

I didn't realize how much time had flown by until I looked at the last post that is here on my blog. December 9th, 2012.  Maybe it's because so much has been going on and I just haven't had time to sit down and write.  From finishing off the semester with a weekend full of being a part of a large Christmas Production for my school to finals and then Christmas break, where I was in Irvine, Monterey, and then Arizona, it seems as if there has really been no down time.  From the moment I arrived back at school for the start of the new semester, the weeks have flown by. With keeping up with all my school work, spending time with friends and family, as well as going to Disney's California Adventure with my choir and also singing at various churches, it's hard to believe that it's already February tomorrow!

Some of my friends and I overlooking the Pier!

I've come to realize that with so many different things taking up my time, it's so nice to find those rare few "free" minutes to just sit back and relax.  Of course, as soon as I stand to get up off this couch, the hours, days, and weeks will just fly by, and sooner or later, it'll already be March.

I've come to realize a lot about myself already in this past month. I definitely have been doing my best to prioritize everything going on in my life, and it really has helped. I feel as if I've become more organized, calm (except for those few rare moments), even though I've been so busy.
Like mentioned already, I had the opportunity to go to Disney's California Adventure to sing with my choir! We all had a great time, however it seems as if all of us were either sick before or sick after.

Anyway, enjoy these few photos!

Azusa Pacific University's Bel Canto Women's Choir performing at Disney's California Adventures

Also, if you haven't had a chance to see "World of Color", you MUST, I repeat, MUST go see it! It's is one of the most wonderful shows I have ever seen. I will admit that I even screamed like a little kid during it. 

Moving Back to Azusa

I'm a JUNIOR now! What is this?! I know it's been awhile since I've done a post, but then I realize that it's been awhile since I've really done anything on the computer. The past two weeks have just been full of craziness.  The first week, I was slowly moving into my apartment with my roommates and we were trying to figure out where things would be going. (I must admit, it did take us about two weeks until we finally did get everything cleaned up and put away.)  This past week, has been keeping me very busy. Thanks to choir camp, which I loved, I was getting up about 6:30 AM and coming home around 10 PM and falling asleep around midnight.

I loved getting to know all the incoming freshman that would be in choir and I loved just being able to sing with them all for the very first time.  My voice now, is completely tired and I know for a fact, that I am fighting a cold. Or a sore throat that has now turned into a cold.  School is starting on Wednesday, so I am trying very hard to take it easy and drink lots of fluids and get a lot of rest. However, my body just won't let me sleep in past 9 AM.  I guess that's a good thing since I will be having 8 AM classes every single day this semester. However, I am kind of bummed out when I look over my shoulder to see both of my roommates fast asleep and it's after 10 AM, and I know they won't be getting up for another hour and a half.

I am hoping to post some pictures of my apartment soon, but right now, as my apartment is for the most part dark, and everyone else is sleeping, I can't even take the pictures. So for now, I'll just include some of my favorite photos from this past week of choir camp!

95% of the returning Bel Canto ladies
(Photo Taken at Huntington Beach)

End of Choir Camp Redneck BBQ dinner at our directors home

I am really hoping that I will be able to update you more as this school year continues! Until then, have a wonderful day. :)

Summer 2012

JEMS Mt. Hermon Inter High Staff

This summer has been crazy, to say the least.  I don't think there has really been a moment where I've been able to just sit and breathe and not have to worry about anything.  However, this summer has been one of the most exciting and rewarding summers I can remember.  Through working, helping out with the Junior High Youth Group at church, Vacation Bible School (VBS), cabin leading for JEMS Mt. Hermon at Inter High, and catching up with friends, I must say that I am looking forward to returning back to Azusa.  Luckily the week before returning to the crazy world of being down at school, I'll have a nice week to relax with family in Lake Tahoe!

I thought I would take some time, as I'm sitting in the nice air conditioned library to reflect on everything that has gone on this summer. And let me tell you, it's been a crazy few months.  Looking back at my last post which was at the end of May, I had just reflected on the past school year and I hadn't even really started my summer break, aside from talking about the choir tour I went on.  So, here we go... if you dare continue to read on. This is my warning: THIS POST COULD END UP VERY LONG!

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!

My parents and I at a wedding in May

Well, here is something... not so new.  This summer, again, is full of weddings. If anything, I believe I went to the same amount of weddings last summer that I did this year.  This summer's total: 3.  My cousin got married on Memorial Day Weekend and that was a beautiful wedding. I loved every part of it. Next week, is another wedding for a good family friend. I'm looking forward to that one, as well as my other cousin getting married towards the end of September. You could still call September summer, right? After all, officially Fall doesn't start until October I think? I love going to weddings. They're so happy and it's great to see two people unite together. The hardest part is always finding a dress to wear to the wedding though... I guess that's one thing that us girls will always have to deal with. 

Youth Group, Church, VBS
Well, what more is to say about youth group, than the fact that it's youth group? From crazy games, to hyper junior highers, to attempting to stay up at the all-nighter (Which didn't happen... I left at 5 AM.)  it's been a great time. They make me feel like I'm getting old because I can't believe that some of them are going to be starting middle school.  But, what can I say? I love working with them and getting to know them.  It's great seeing them first start off in youth group because I know by the time they graduate high school (Oh gosh... then I'm really going to feel old!) they will have made some great friends through it all.  

"Sing and Play" at VBS!

VBS this summer was great. I wasn't expecting to be as involved as I was, but it was still great. Seeing children worship God, have fun, and just being crazy is so exciting for me.  What is wonderful is that all of the kids who attend, for the most part, do not even go to a church!  Overall though, it was a great week, despite the fact that I went home every day feeling exhausted and then had to run straight to work!  But it was a great week, and somehow, those VBS songs randomly will get stuck in my head...

JEMS Mt. Hermon Inter High 

"For the Lord will be your confidence

    and will keep your foot from being caught."

Proverbs 3:26

The Lovely Ladies of Cabin Seven

10 days being with an awesome staff. 7 days being with some awesome and crazy incoming 8th and 9th graders. And one AMAZING cabin full of 8 incoming 9th graders.  Gosh, this year is just indescribable.  So many great things happened.  I got to experience my girls in my cabin becoming close with one another, being real, praying for one another, and even had one girl accept Jesus into her life! Seeing these girls really grow throughout the week was just so exciting for me.  All the late nights and early mornings and not sleeping during chill out time was totally worth it, and I can't wait for next year. 

Friends

In Santa Cruz with Shawn

Being home has given me the opportunity to catch up with friends that I don't get to see or talk to on a regular basis.  I got to have brunch with Mika before she left on her missions trip to Mexico, I got to go bowling and have some great meals and laughs with friends from church, and I got to catch up with Annie, who has practically been my sister my entire life.  But the one special visit of the summer was when Shawn came up for 4 days to visit! Being able to see him after not seeing him for about a month and a half was wonderful.  We got to go to Santa Cruz, Monterey, and he got to know my parents even better.  It's hard to believe that the day school starts, will mark 4 months of us being together, yet we will have seen each other maybe a week and a half total.  

This summer, I've also gotten to Skype with friends from school and just keep in touch with them. I think that's the greatest part about friendships.  Today with all the technology, even if you don't see your friends on a regular basis, you can still keep in touch with them and know what is going on in their lives.  

Upcoming
Well, in exactly 4 weeks from today, I will be moving into my apartment back down in Azusa and it's hard to believe that the year will be starting. The utilities are all set up and Bel Canto things are being taken care of.  Choir Camp preparation is in full swing and it's so exciting to think that I'll be meeting a whole new group of young women and I'll be able to sing with them and minister and serve with them this year.  I'm excited to meet all of them so soon!  It's hard to believe that just 2 years ago, I was just starting college.  I can remember very clearly everything that happened that first week and a half of Freshman year. And let me tell you, that is quite a story!  But I won't go into that.  

I'm excited to see how everything works out this school year. Granted, it will be a lot of work and this semester, I will need to focus a lot more and work a lot harder. But I'm excited for the challenge and to see how God is going to work in this next year! There is still a lot more things that need to get done before I can get back down to Southern California, so it will be busy. But I know that these last few weeks will go by so quickly and I won't know what happened to the time. 

Camy and I at the youth group all nighter
eating our Spam Musubi Which was falling apart

Well, this has become much longer than I thought it would, so I better get going.  For those of you who read until the end, WOW! I mainly was writing just so I could have these memories written down.  But hopefully this school year, I'll be able to do a better job at doing updates.  

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day, and you all get your daily dose of Vitamin D!

Update Time

At Knott's Berry Farm

I know that this post is very long overdue, but the past couple of months has just been a crazy whirlwind of all these different events happening.  Since Spring Break ended (and that is when I last updated this blog), I have gone on many different adventures with my friends. We ended up spending the day at Knott's Berry Farm, going to an Anaheim Angel's game against the Oakland A's (yes, I was happy that the Angel's won!), had a future roommate photo shoot, and also ended up going on a little adventure to Venice Beach.  Talk about some interesting people there.  I was also able to go on tour with some of the most amazing young women I know.  We went to 7 different states within 16 days. If we calculated, that is approximately 3,005 miles that we drove. So now that you have a little idea of what has been going on in my life recently, let me break it down for you all and go into a little bit more detail. 

Future Roommate Photo Shoot

Knott's Berry Farm, Angel's Game, a Photo Shoot, and Venice Beach

Shawn and I at Venice Beach
(Plus our official "Third Wheel")

My friends and I have really enjoyed getting to know each other better day by day.  We enjoy just hanging out and playing games to sitting around eating a meal together. Eventually we make it off campus to go on a little adventure. We had a great time at Knott's Berry Farm riding all the different rides and also just having a great time. That even included watching a show about some cowboys! Yes, you can bet that Megan just loved it. 

As I look back, I realize what a crazy busy weekend that way. The next day we went to an Anaheim Angel's game to celebrate our friends birthday. Yes, the Angels won, and I was very glad because they were playing the Oakland A's. Coming from a San Francisco Giant's family, I wasn't going to root for the A's. It was fun being with friends and enjoying the game while snacking on some very yummy hot dogs and peanuts!

The following weekend, was again, another very busy weekend. My future roommates and I went on a photo shoot just so we could have photos we could have printed and the put in our apartment. Plus, we needed a reason to hang out and get dressed up. Let me say, although it was awkward at times because we didn't know what to do, the photos are hilarious! 

Link for the edited photos from the Photo Shoot: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150843649217792.469144.678167791&type=3&l=4e0cf0258f

Link for the unedited photos from the Photo Shoot: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150843658817792.469147.678167791&type=3&l=29d971eb93

The ladies who kept me sane over Tour

That same day, we decided that we wanted to go to the beach, so we all adventured over to Venice Beach. Now here's a funny side story. It was so hot in Azusa that we thought it would be the perfect day to go to the beach. Well, so did everyone else in the Los Angeles area. It took us almost 2 or 3 hours just to get to Venice. And by the time we got there, it was cloudy and starting to get a little cold. It was okay though because we still had a very good time tossing the frisbee around on the beach. 

Bel Canto Women's Choir Tour 2012 #bcTUBE12

53 Women, 16 days, 7 states, and 3,005 miles later, we had finally completed our tour. Now don't get me wrong, we had a great time and it was so much fun being able to get to know all of these young women so much better, but 16 days with all girls is a little long! By the time we finally were able to get off the bus when we arrived back in Azusa, I was so happy just to see other faces! 

It was wonderful being able to meet so many different host families in all of the different states we traveled to and it was also great being able to minster to many different groups of people. We even were able to go to the Mormon Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. While in Utah, I even got to float in The Great Salt Lake! It really does work. You don't have to try at all to float. I even managed to somehow float on my stomach. That was also quite the experience.  But overall, it was such a great two weeks and if you want to see photos and get an idea of what tour was like go to Facebook and like our page: APU Bel Canto Women's Choir!

Shawn and I after my final concert
(Sorry it's a blurry photo)

We had our final concert in Azusa, and it was great seeing a good amount of my friends show up. We had a potluck dinner and we got to share about what tour was like and share all of our favorite songs from choir with our friends and family.  At the end of the concert, all of the members were acknowledged and were given either a flower, journal and flower, or mug depending on how many years they were in choir.  The graduated seniors also got a special necklace. It was definitely a night full of tears, but also happy tears!

Oh, and how could I forget!? 

With my roommates after they got Baptized!

Both of my roommates got baptized! And let me tell you, I was one happy roommate that night! God has been so good to me this year by blessing me with wonderful friends and roommates. I don't know how I would have survived this past school year without every single person that I interacted with this past school year. 

A Look into this Summer!

Well, this summer is going to be quite a busy one for me, and hopefully I'll be able to update this blog more often.  I am currently working, and I will also be cabin leading at Mt. Hermon, as well as going on vacation to Lake Tahoe with my mom's side of the family.  With all this going on, there are also a few family weddings getting thrown into the schedule as well as me trying to schedule time in to see all of my friends from home, as well as hopefully getting some visits from friends from school! 

So keep checking my blog for more updates from me!