Happy Last Day of 2014!

Lately, it seems like days, months, weeks are WHIZZING by. I want to hold on to them so tightly. And relive every special moment over and over. I think it’s in those moments I become really grateful that I have a blog to capture things so I never, ever forget.

Because it’s these little moments that I want to remember forever.

Like yesterday morning when I hung out with my Nani watching The Price is Right.

She bragged a little bit that she has been to live showings of both The Price is Right AND Family Feud. She made sure to clarify that it was when The Price Is Right was cooler with Bob Barker as the host.

Yesterday, I also met up with Ananth and Narty for an early lunch. I was really excited to see them again after our dinner at Ananth’s house. Typically, during winter breaks, I only get to see friends for a quick drink or a lunch or dinner since so much of our time is occupied with family festivities. So, it was a really special treat that I got to see them twice! 🙂

We went to Eat Chow in Newport, which was recommended to us by Sister. We were incredibly impressed with the food. Especially the truffle fries and cheesy tots. Anything drowned in cheese is always worth trying. Right? That spun our discussion into a “what would you rather give up” conversation: cheese OR fries. I still haven’t come to a decision. That is a hurtful question.

After lunch, we decided to go for a walk along the beach to walk off all that fried goodness.

It was completely deserted since it was a 60 degree kind of day in Newport. Apparently that’s too cold for us Californians. We used this opportunity to take selfies.

I should really quit my job and go into modeling. I’ve got that hair-blowing-in-the-wind thing DOWN.

After our walk, I had to say goodbye and drive over to Huntington Beach to the DENTIST! I say that in all-caps and exclamation points because I adore him. Dr. Fleming is just a really good, solid guy. He’s really passionate about what he does and is very patient and thoughtful with everyone he interacts with.

You wouldn’t think that I would be so enamored by the person who is literally poking and scraping my teeth with all his fancy tools. But, for some reason, it’s like this weird, beautiful art. He scrapes. He tells some jokes. He pokes (but not without fair warning so you’re not alarmed) while he talks about his grandkids. And then, sometimes, when he has to drill, he’ll dive into a long story about the most recent date night with his wife and his opinion on Frozen, because he has 8 grandkids, so of course he knows all the things about Frozen. He is the absolute best.

After getting my free toothbrush, I was on my merry way. I was REALLY craving something hot since it was cold out, so I was going to stop by Coffee Bean on PCH on my way home.

EXCEPT IT SHUT DOWN.

A little bit of my insides were hurting when I saw that. It was the Coffee Bean I stopped at before going into school (as a hip-to-the-hop 16-year old who got her drivers license and could drive HERSELF to school).

So much has changed around here, so, I can’t get too upset. It has been 10 years since I left this place. But, still, it stings a little bit when things change. Even coffee shops. I settled for some homemade chai in my new (but extremely old) favorite cup.

It was raining throughout the second half of the day. I’m not complaining too much. I will gladly take this over the negative temperatures other places are facing. And besides, when it rains, it looks like this:

So I bundled up by the fireplace (ummmm……I don’t know how I’m going to survive without this thing when I have to go back up north this weekend). And, we all had a nice family dinner together when my Dad got home.

Today, the family is planning on going back to Balboa Island in the evening so we can see all the decorated homes again. But, this time, we want to walk around at night to see all the lights and full effects! Then, we’ll all come back home and do the annual NYE fun. (We basically just dress up in onesies/PJs and play board games and random minute-to-win-it shenanigans). This year, we will probably add in some Bananagrams and Heads Up! I love NYE! I just hope I can stay awake until midnight. I’ve never been too good at that part.

Hope you all enjoy the last bits of 2014!