The Average Day

Have you ever noticed how when there's things that need to be done and events to happen, they end up on the same day? Always. Well Cece had a busy day a few weeks back. It was a madrigals performance and then about 10 minutes later was the award from the mayor for having a high GPA and ACT score. (Yes I do brag about my family because they won't brag about themselves. I may be a dancer but I definitely don't have a crazy dance mom.) The performance went well and it was a beautiful and hot day out! Middle of May and already 85-90 degree weather? That to me sounds perfect. She's gonna hate me for posting these pictures, but then again she is about the only person that reads my blog, so that's my argument and it's okay.

Then as soon as the performance was over, it was a ten minute run to find a bathroom for her to change and head over to City Hall. We got her looking beautiful and she got her award from the Mayor. Lots of other student got it too and one of them was her best friend Rachel. Alex, who is Rachel's little brother, couldn't be left out of the fun of taking pictures after. Isn't he so cute with his missing teeth? And PS: Cece really isn't that tall, she's just wearing high heels in this picture. 

Part Two I Guess

Before I forget, run out of time and never post about Florida again here's the last of the recap pictures from a month ago. (Does that show you how busy/forgetful I can be?) Well here's the last of the Disneymundia pictures, the number 1 beach in the United States and the Rays Baseball game where I actually got to touch some sting rays! (And I was so brave I only screamed about 4 times.) 

A Disney Recap

So I never really got the chance to tell you all how Disneymundia was. But all I need are a few words to explain it: magically amazing. We went crazy hard core and ran ourselves ragged and tired just on the first day, riding every single ride in two parks. We decided to take it a little bit easier the next few days otherwise we'd probably die before making it to the beach. About 15 minutes into Animal Kingdom on our very first day I had a fan girl moment when I got to meet Russel and Doug from UP!

Other highlights from the day include our very first Disney ride- Dinosaur, like the movie. Probably one of the slowest not very actiony rides, but since it was the first ride Carli and I had been on in probably 5 years at least, we were scared out of our minds!

We also went to Disneymundia at the right time of year because the lines were so short! The whole trip and our longest wait was 30 minutes. I waited longer in the testing center lines at BYU than at Disneymundia. But since the lines were so short, we were able to go on rides 5 times in a row if we wanted to. Expedition Everest? You can bet that we did that one at least 5 times. 

And you can't forget about the wilderness exploration that we did. Don't mind me, I'm just 40 feet away from a baby elephant and making friends with the wildlife (if goats can count as wildlife, that is.) 

Pinterest Fail

I've been back from Disneymundia for about 3 weeks now and I've been craving some Dole Whip. You know that yummy stuff that you get over in Adventureland (or maybe that was the giant turkey leg in Adventureland). So what does one do when craving something over a thousand miles away? Look up the recipe on Pinterest, duh! (Also this post is for all those whose Pinterest inspirations don't come out the way they had hoped.) 

I checked every single pinterest pin from different websites to see comments from other bloggers for their suggestions and they all said their Dole Whip turned out delicious and that this recipe was the best and easiest... I'm not really sure what that means about my ability to cook and follow directions.

 

Well folks that is the look of a very dissapointed person. And yes that hand mixer is older than me, thanks for noticing. It's vintage. It's in right now. And I don't wanna go buy a new one. So what do we do late at night when it's 10 PM and your Dole Whip creation turned out...not like Dole Whip? We go to to the store and buy things for guava cake for dessert the next day, because you know you can make that. And luckily that one was delicious. So maybe I'll never get married because I can't make Dole Whip but my dog loved eating it and he's the only opinion that matters to me. He'll never say I burnt the chicken for dinner. Thanks Samson for always being there for me. 

You are Appreciated

For those of you that don't know, my mom was married for 7 years before she had any kids. Luckily after much waiting, she finally had 3 beautiful baby girls. Our mom worked graveyard shifts from 6 at night to 6 in the morning so that she could stay home with us during the day. I personally can't imagine watching three little girls on zero sleep. But if anyone could do it, it would be my mom.
And this folks, this lovely lady, is my mama.

Through thick and thin, she has held this family together even at it's hardest times. She was there for me when I had nightmares as a child. She was there to wipe my tears when boys broke up with me. She would cook special food for me when I was a stubborn child and wouldn't eat hamburgers because I was vegetarian  She would drive me to early morning cheerleading practice and late night dance practice. 

She puts up with all the weirdness in the family, even my little sister. You can tell by her creeping in on my picture with my mom. My mom puts up with all of my weird dating stories. She puts up with all of my complaining. She puts up with all of my crankiness when I'm hungry or tired (or a horrible combination of the two). And no one could do it as well as her. 

Although I love this following video and it makes me cry, I don't want to be like this guy and have a last minute conversation with my mom about these things. I'd say we're one of the closest mother-daughter families. In the past 3 years of living down at college, I've called my mom every day. She's my number one. I love you Mommy!

I Love Animals too Much

Disneyworld? Amazing. I'm not sure if there's words to really describe it. I felt like a little kid with all of my excitement. So Disneyworld has several different parks to it, one of them being Animal Kingdom which is like a zoo but they try to make you feel even more like you're in Africa. I boarded the bus that took us out into the wilderness and the first word out of the tour guides mouth, "Jambo!" I love Disney. 

I'm Not Really Conservative

But when I say that I'm not really conservative, what I'm referring to, at least for the moment is my earrings. I loveeeeeeeeeeeeee earrings. Maybe a little too much. I have hoops that are literally bigger than a grown man's fist. 

If you don't really know me, then please refer to this picture. Last year when I was at the beach I took these big earrings. And you can see how happy I was with them compared to the little ones above. But I don't want to get my earrings stuck in any rides or anything at Disneymundia because then it would rip my ears off and then I'd die. So I'm being a responsible adult and taking little earrings because that's what adults do and I'm 21 now. 

Now I'm off to finish my packing because my flight leaves in 6 hours and I still can't find everything. Don't worry I'll post a picture or two on the blog and instagram and facebook to make you all jelly. 

Testmageddon

Testmageddon. That's what they're all calling it over at BYU. The last day of finals and people waiting in line for at least 2+ hours. I was in the line for a good hour and a half before I even got my test. And I got in line around 2 PM. . Nothing says stress more than the look on these kids faces and also seeing the line that won't stop growing. Would you like an example?

This was the line after I had been standing in line for about half an hour all the way back to at least the Benson. And this was only about 3 PM! Well if you want something really crazy, check out this video. You'll just about pee your pants. This was once I finished my test and left around 6 PM and decided, "Let's see how long this crazy line is." Much longer than I expected it to be. Sorry for the shakiness of the video, it was just taken on my iPhone and I wasn't really planning on posting this for anyone to see, but hey why not. So sorry about the quality and all that jazz.

Testmageddon from Teresa Maria Mendiola on Vimeo.

But isn't that crazy?! I know. You're lucky I sped the video up. In real time it's over 4:30 minutes long from when I started recording. Well all I can say is procrastinators unite. Hope finals went great for all. 

My Dearest Readers

I have decided that since my most popular post, which had a lot more of my personal life in it, that I'm going to start going a little bit more into detail for my blog posts. Don't worry, you won't hear what time I woke up, how many times I went to the bathroom or how long it takes to shave my legs. But aren't blogs more fun to read when the person really sheds light on what really happened and you feel almost like you were there? Answer: yes, yes they are. So here's to more detailed and specific blogs.
I hope you're all ready. Because I really do have some great stories. I'd say some of the best ones are my dating stories. Get ready because I've got a lifetime of these bad boys. 

In the mean time, I think I should introduce you to a little bit more of me. (PS: If you have any questions, feel free to put them in the comment box and I will answer them.) I just turned 21. I've got a great birthday dinner story to tell you all. It shall be in my next blog post which shall be about my birthday. Okay, really I don't know what to write to you all about. Perhaps I'll try some blogging prompts, such as, describe to us your first kiss. 
............ Well he's gay and turns out I was just his beard. That's all I really want to say about that. 
I hope that made everyone's day. 

Also I love to Skype and ooVoo and all other sorts of video chats. Mo and I were going to Facetime tonight, until I realized that's on fancy iPhones. So we did a Hangout on G+ (Yes we are 2 of the 249 people that keep it going). I love this girl and I love her family. Beware, when this little one learns how to take screenshots on the computer, she goes cray cray. 

It's Show Time, Baby!

So sometimes my friends and I like to support one another in the things that we participate in. And when we do, we like to take pictures of these events so we have proof that we supported each other. That way when another thing comes around, you say okay I came to your thing, your turn now. Haha just kidding, we just take the pictures for the memories.
But in all seriousness Jared performed in the ROC show over the weekend and we went to support him. They did a great job, but my two favorite numbers were Fiji and Bolivia. (That's probably just because I'm Latin in my blood and Polynesian in my heart. See my previous blog posts if you don't believe me.) 

Jared came out in the Bolivia costume in the end for finale and I was so stoked to take a picture with him afterwards in costume, but he's kind of lame and changed into an ROC shirt. 

Also all brown people go to all brown people's things, so you're guaranteed to run into anyone and everyone. The picture above was me and la familia from the Conference Center performance back in October. But who else did I run into at this performance? Hmmmm....about 4 of my exes. I would politely say hi to all of them and talk for a few minutes while I can hear all my friends behind me talking, "I bet she dated that guy too." Yes, yes I did. The other guy I avoided? A Tinder match gone wrong. 

And all the girls were wearing leather jackets, so we couldn't pass up a photo opportunity. 

Blogiversary!

I can't believe I missed such a big point in my blog's life. I've had my blog for a whole year now! (Insert Happy Birthday Dear Blogger song right now.) Here's to a big thank you to all of my readers and subscribers and anyone that stumbles upon this blog. (Don't forget to subscribe via Google reader or the side bar!) 
I was looking over my stats for this past year and my most read blog post? The story of my ex taking me wedding dress shopping. Glad you all enjoyed in sharing in my pain (even though every girl dreams to go wedding dress shopping). 
What are some suggestions for what you'd like to see in the next year? Post your suggestions in the comment box below.
Thank you all again and mahalos and gracias and merci and any other language I should know. I couldn't have kept up blogging if it wasn't for all of you, my readers and my inspirations to blog. 

In the mean time to make your day, here is a picture of a baby elephant. They make everyone happy.

Last Week

If you've never had a kidney stone, you don't know pain. Well you might know pain. But not kidney stone pain. This was my last week. Horrible. Excruciating pain that makes you so nauseous. Well it's over at least. That's all I can say about that. 

Welcome To Hawaii

"Hula is the language of the heart, therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people." I have no clue who said this, it was just on the Merrie Monarch Facebook page. Last week was the competition and even though we may not have been able to go to Hawaii to go see Merrie Monarch this year, so we brought Hawaii to us.

About 11 at night we gathered around the TV, made spam and rice and pani popo and enjoyed the sounds of the Hawaiian people and enjoyed some pretty good looking eye candy. My personal favorite? A group called Ke Kai o Kahiki. Don't believe me that they're mouth watering good looking? See for yourselves. There is nothing better than good food and good eye candy, really good eye candy.

I told you that it was some really good eye candy. The whole time I was watching the competition, all that could go through my mind was, "Can I have your babies?" Marco always says to think about your future children and posterity and that you want them to be as good looking as possible. Well....my future posterity would be well taken care of with these men. So needless to say, it was a very good night. I love always being with Momi and Maddy and Steffi and all of their roommates. 

Also recipe for the delicious pani popo. What you'll need: 1 package of Rhodes rolls (because making your own rolls, ain't nobody got the time for that!), 1 can coconut milk, 1 cup water and 1/3 cup of sugar (you can add more or less to taste). Let the rolls rise, then pour the mix of everything else on top and bake at 350 until they turn a golden brown color. Then eat until you feel ashamed of yourself. 

I Told You So

Remember back to my post a few weeks ago when I made poi balls and I put the title "Sometimes I Think I'm Poly." Well I told you so felt like a good title for today's blog. I danced in Luau a few weeks ago and got in touch with my Polynesian side. My little sister asked my why I dance in Luau but I've never danced in Fiesta. Good question Cece, maybe I'll dance in Fiesta next year just for you. 

But this has been my second year dancing in Luau and even though the early 6 AM every Saturday dance practice for 4 hours is a pain, it's always worth it in the end and I later find myself missing it. 

Although even if I feel like I put in lots of hours at practice, the instructors put in even more time. Seriously this couldn't have happened with wonderful people like Keoki, Kawehi, Kamaile, Kiana and Kira. (Apparently to be a luau instructor your name has to start with a K.) Mahalos to everyone that participated or came out to watch the show.