Life is awesome.

A lot has happened since the last time I posted on this thing. I don't know if I'll be able to talk about most of it, but I'll give it a shot and go through the important things.

Although I was stuck in Irvine for work until the Thursday after finals week, I was lucky enough to have the company of my roommates until Wednesday; and I thought I was going to alone the whole week haha. Wine, bruschette & pasta was delish, Mel's adventures in Italy are definitely rubbing off in the apartment in a good way. There was also a lot of Maki Maki sushi, a good handful of it courtesy of Roger. Thanks again man, you baller. Oh and I finally got to see Dreamgirls, and I've got to say that Beyonce exceeded my expectations. I was totally expecting another horrid performance after her role in "Goldmember" ugh. But Ms. Knowles pulled her weight in Dreamgirls (and you all KNOW how much I love her :] ). Still, Jennifer Hudson blew her out of the water! American Idol voters, what were you thinking with Fantasia?

Wednesday the 19th was Raf's & my 5 year anniversary. Time flew by soooo fast, it's hard to believe it started half a decade ago, wow. We weren't able to do anything that day because of work the next day, so we just celebrated on Friday. Nothing too extravagant, just lunch and a nice day at Balboa Park. It's definitely one of my favorite places to go in San Diego, you don't even really have to spend any money to enjoy yourself with the pretty scenery and aura of the place. I've always wanted to try the food at the Prado too, so this was the perfect time to do it. Highlights of lunch for me was the great service and the KOBE BEEF SUSHI. I am not lying when I say that I've never tasted sushi soooo gooood in my life.

The plan for dinner was to cook, but we got too lazy so we went to Olive Garden instead - never a bad choice. Ended the night with "I Am Legend", I'd give it a decent B-. This is coming from someone who has read the book, so my expectations were a little different. I'll do a review on this in an upcoming post. Back to the anniversary...

I decided to get Raf this Urban Outfitters jacket that he's been eyeing for a while and an authentic Padres Premier thermabase jacket. It felt good to get a nice present this year since it's the first time I've had a job during the holiday season. As for me, I totally did not see this one coming.

When he first gave me the bag it was in my first words were "What is thisss?!" (Romantic, right?). Then I pulled out the little box and unwrapped it; the whole time I was getting even more nervous so I took my time unwrapping. Finally I finished, and he opened the box for me:

Disclaimer: some serious sappy stuff coming up

I didn't even know what to say at first, partly because I started crying haha. I was seriously overwhelmed with so much emotion. This gift honestly means a lot to me and most of it doesn't even have to do with what it actually is. Just thinking about how much effort he put into saving up for it, not being able to go out as much or not being able to do some things he wanted. Trust me I know, I witnessed all of it the past couple of months. That's what got to me the most. And in the end, for it to be all for me, I mean what do I say to that? Then there's the actual ring itself, omg. Truthfully, I would have been more than happy this anniversary with just a kiss and a thank you because everything between Raf and me has just been so awesome. This was just the icing on the cake. I hope everyone I know experiences the kind of love I experience in this relationship sometime in their life because it's just this wonderful, heartwarming, undescribable feeling that I will never be able to put to words. Thanks again Raf for everything you've done for me the past 5 years, I love you, and it'll only get better from here on out :)

Just for fun here's a short timeline from the past 5 years -

Our very first picture together at a youth night at OLMC.

After one of Idelle's rehearsals for her 16th birthday.

Junior Year Homecoming.

My 18th birthday.

MCHS Airbands: Remix 2005.

Senior Prom.

Jamey's birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe, La Jolla.

Krystle's debut.

Fall Quarter, first year at UCI.

Summer before second year.

Raf's 19th birthday: SD Day at Coronado, Downtown & Balboa.

Disneyland & CA Adventures in January 2007.

Universal Studios & Hollywood in Spring 2007.

Birch Aquarium during this past summer.

Last month for 4 Years & 11 Months.

Happy Holidays everyone, I hope yours is full of peace, love, & happiness! (Good food too of course).