Friendsy-fun!

Sooooooo...

MARY IS HOME, EVERYONE!

YAY!

I went to pick her up from the airport yesterday and I was so excited to see her. We got home and made breakfast for a very late supper. We had bacon, fruit, eggs (I let Mary take over the eggs... she cooked them with chopsticks, and, well, I can barely maneuver a piece of sushi into my mouth with chopsticks), and mini-donuts of the chocolate and powdered persuasion. Let me say, it was the BEST breakfast I have had in a while! We stayed up until after 1 AM just catching up and it was so nice to have someone back in the apartment (no more boogie monster noises late at night to give me the heeby jeeblets)!

 

 

 Today I woke up early as usual... that darn sunshine! I love it because I'm guaranteed to wake up at a decent time each day without setting an alarm, but gosh. I mean can it just relax sometimes? The answer is no, I don't believe it can. At least not in California. Back to my morning, I made another gross cup of coffee since my professional coffee-making parents aren't here, and went for a "jog." Really, it was mainly a fast walk, but there were many jogging moments evenly dispersed. Let's keep in mind that Californian soil very much resembles mini Egyptian pyramids... aka... IT IS REALLY HILLY SO IT'S KIND OF IMPOSSIBLE TO RUN UP A HILL FOR LIKE 5 MINUTES STRAIGHT WHEN YOU'RE NOT AN AVID RUNNER AND IT'S MAYBE JUST TRYING TO BE TOASTY OUTSIDE, ya dig? It probably wasn't smart of me to wear a black shirt... but when am I ever smart? I was faced with a life decision on this "jog." I had two choices: live or die. Well... yeah, those were my two choices. I like to think of myself as a temperature sensitive diva, and honestly I'm not proud, but I'm not quite sure what can be done to resolve the issue. I'm sensitive to high heat and low cold (it should make sense... opposite words for opposite temperatures.. yes? no...? okay) and today I was feeling high heat. Should I pass out and die in the middle of town, or do the unthinkable and... remove the heat absorbing shirt?? *skooches to the edge of the seat in immense suspense awaiting the verdict* Alright, I took my shirt off. I wasn't thrilled. I was embarrassed, BUT I just pulled my shorts up super high without acquiring a pied d'camel so that my torso was not so ferociously moving about the cabin. Nice view though, right?

 After that adventure, I finally made it back home with my post-mortem face on. I made myself presentable, and went with Mary to this little juice bar called Nekter! The sign is super legit... like it's all colorful, yet it has the minimalist approach. It also has backwards e's. Way too cool. So we got acai bowls for lunch! It was good--sort of similar to this place we like called Banzai Bowls, but the fruit combos were a little different. Mine was "tropical." Aaaaaah.

 When your parents bless you with a unique name, while there's a better chance you'll be called back for that interview because your name is so darn cool they can't stop thinking about you, the local cashier at any store will have 0 idea what is coming out of your mouth. Remi, I know it's quite a tricky name... Probably should be illegal in all 50 states to name your child such a thing. Because of this complexity, I have taken on a pseudonym. Meet Danielle. I am Danielle in public. "Yes, I'll have the #3 please." "Name?" "DANIELLE." Don't get me wrong though, Danielle is often challenging for some also. The lady at Panera Bread, when I told her my name was Danielle, she asked, "So is that like D-E-N-I-L-E?" And I was like... uhm, yep. Mmhmm. That's... that's absolutely it.. Perfect. *Sigh* I'm just glad that now I have a set name. Back in the day when I was new at lying about my name, I would actually forget that I was planning on using a fake name, so when someone would ask, they'd get "uhm... KAY!" Kay? Yeah,.. Kay. Wow, Remi. Kay is such a wonderful name, great choice. *double sigh*

Bottom line, Mary and I went to Nekter and I got to meet two of her friends: Chris and Samantha!

This afternoon Mary needed groceries so I decided to tag along. She decided that she wanted to make cauliflower crust pizza! We're trying to be healthy so it was a good idea... but lol. The crust completely stuck to the aluminum foil when we cooked it. I mean it was just completely glued. The pictures don't do it justice. As a side note, Mary fought for an hour trying to use the blender as a food processer to make the cauliflower like rice, dirtied most all dishes in the house, and didn't even get to eat the dad-gum fruits of our (her) labor. I was sending support from afar while eating chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. I know I said we're eating healthy, but.. well I just bought some ice cream today. We decided to bust the crust and just made some mini pizzas on whole wheat bread.

 These are Mary's pizzas! We got pretty crazy with our pizzas. Pineapple, feta cheese, mushrooms, chicken... you name it- we had it! Tonight we wanted to go see Maleficent, but go figure... the crust that we didn't even get to eat took so long to make that we couldn't get to the movie in time. Instead we watched Despicable Me 2 :)

 



I'm having such a blast now that Mary is here! We laugh and cut up so much... I feel like it's just one giant sleep-over! Well, I have to get my beauty rest.. I need to look especially gorgeous tomorrow... More details to come ;)

'Sun'day Adventures!

Happy Sunday, everyone! Today, I had a ball.

No, really... I didn't.

Who am I kidding...

Today was a piñata. A large paper mache piñata full of goodies.
Why don't people ever say 'today I had a piñata?' What is filled in a ball? Air... how enticing. HELLO. Piñatas have cool things in them.. like a fun day does. WORD TO THE WISE. 

Alright, stop laughing. I know your abs are about to fall out of your stomach. You're welcome for the workout though--let's meet again next week.

Okay, so back to piñata-like things... My day started at 7 AM. Technically, it started before that as I kept waking up from nightmares that I would oversleep/have an alarm malfunction/have all of mankind be disappointed in my failed attempt of waking up for the day... We'll stick to 7 though, much simpler. Anywho, I got ready and made my way to Newport. I went to church with... you guessed it... the good ole Jeffy Jeff. Who is Jeffy Jeff? A friend of my mother's friend who has also turned into our friend. He is so great. And you know what else is great? Our Lady Queen of Angels Church. Could I get an 'amen?' It is so stunning. I will get married here. Any single cats out there looking for a food vacuumer? Hereeeee I am. Seriously though, isn't it so pretty?



Stole this pic from Google.. thought it may be frowned upon to snap photos during Mass.  

I spent most of the hour checking out the sights. I definitely hope to go back!

The next order of business was beach time! Yippee! After church, we changed into our beach gear, hopped on some bikes, and got to pedaling! I was pretty much nervous the entire way to the beach because I was still a little too short for the bike EVEN WITH THE SEAT AS LOW AS POSSIBLE. We made it there thankfully. It was a little intimidating though! We were riding bikes on the real road. With cars. And many cars. Going very fast. Sharing our lane. Paaaaaaanic attack! The beach was loads of fun.. I frolicked.


Wore my rash guard since it's protective and I was too lazy to apply sunblock.

 After a little time playing in the agua... water... what's with the use of the Spanish language when clearly French is my thang? After a little beach time, we went to get some food. I was quite ravenous as it was past lunch time and that one banana from breakfast had evaporated from my system long ago. We went to a little place called Cabo Cantina.


Good ole Diet Coke...

 I got a rice bowl which had rice, beans, an assortment of delightful grilled veggies, and steak. I demolished that poor thing. Jeff got tacos! We then went back to the beach for a bit to rest up before the big bike home! Then we bit the bullet, and began our trek home.



Bonjour beefy leg... We were going over a bridge--ouch on the quads!



There were so many paddle boarders out! Had to capture for my momma. I had a lovely day today and got my exercise in from biking 8 miles... a little different when you're going uphill :)



Vacays and Fly-Aways

So yesterday was a very odd day for me... I dropped off my mom at the airport *sniffles* and came to the apartment to begin my day as a hermit. I tried to catch a little nap ('twas an early morning for us) but apparently Juan Pablo and his landscaping crew decided to mow the grass, weed-eat, and do any other loud yard work at the complex, which resulted in.. you guessed it- an unsuccessful nap. So I sat hopelessly in my little bunk bed all day until I finally got the gumption to mosey into the kitchen and microwave myself a lean cuisine (I even put some Tony Chachere's for flavors of the South). Still wasn't feeling it. I called my mom, complained a little, made her feel bad for leaving (accidental guilt trip...sorry mother) and in so many words, she told me to go frolic in the sun somewhere.

Sun?

Where you is, delicate sunshine?

Oh, DID YOU WAKE UP EARLY THIS MORNING ALSO?

Okay so the sun was hiding from me, and I was also locked out of the pool and gym so I decided... I shall go to Trader Joe's. We don't have one at home, and I am just amazed by that mini grocery store. The labels are so cute on all the food stuffs! And they have some pretty unique items. Feeling unique, I purchased 3 bananas, 2 cups of yogurt, and hummus. I felt rebellious handing my assortment of goodies to the cashier. "Are you scared of me, Joseph the cashier? Yeah, just wait until next week." Joseph was probably frightened as I was wearing a slept-in over sized t-shirt with leggings and a rats nest on my head. I did have on 3 day old mascara though, to my advantage..? I was a sight.

Came home, took a shower, and watched my favorite medical TV series, House. Boy do I love me some House. It made me feel better, and I soon drifted off to sleep.

Are we all depressed now? OH POOR REMI. No, really. I'm fine. 4-reals. I'm Gucci, if you will. And to combat my pity part intro, let's check out some photos from the mini-vacay with mom!

3rd picture at this lifeguard stand!

Paddle boarding in Newport Beach

Mom is always up for some rock crawling!

You know, I love a good cactus :)

Please call me Graceful...

Or Grace for short- yikes



Who has such a cute mom!?

So I'm settled in and am looking forward to Sunday! I'll be going to church and the beach with Jeffy-Jeff. He is my fave.

 

 
 
 

Hello & Goodbye!

Hello!

First, I suppose it would be proper to introduce myself. I'm Remi! I pronounce it (Rem-e) which seems simple enough; however, you would be surprised at the various pronunciations that are thrown my way ('Ree-my'..like, whut?). I just wrapped up my freshman year of college in Louisiana (I'm a southern gal) and I cannot be more excited for summer!


My lovely friend Rachel and me at a school football game this past fall!

Last summer, I spent June in Southern California. It was... rather stupendous I must say. The only reason I know about this magical place is because my mom took me to Orange County for *Spriiiiiiiing Breaaaaak* about two years ago for the first time, and I fell in l-o-v-e (I also realized that traveling would most certainly be a frequent occurrence in my life). The mountains were beautiful, the water was beautiful, the plants were beautiful, the air... was beautiful. I remember a fun trip full of laughs and new sights.

First trip to Cali-breakfast with mom. She's a darling!





Every time we head to CA (we are about to make our 4th trip) we love to eat at this little restaurant in Laguna Beach called 'Greeter's Corner.' "Hi, yes, 2 please. We'll take outside dining."
 
Oh, the memories! Thank you for such lovely trips Mommy. I cherish every moment.
 
Okay, so for the fun part. This time I get to spend the ENTIRE summer in California! Gnarly duuude. Seriously though, I have been waiting for this day since I left California a year ago. I'm so happy that I will be staying with my friend Mary who I met last June. She is the cutest thing! She is in college in SoCal working towards a degree in art. She does the best paintings/drawings/computer art, plus.. she draws a pretty precious succulent! We both love Sprinkles cupcakes, so naturally I foresee some cupcake dates as well as many more adventures-- I love that she is adventurous. 


Mary with her baby cake :)



This will be such a new experience for me. I will be away from home for 3 whole months, and I will be living in an apartment with Mary (yay!) but also with 2 strangers. I will adjust just fine though. I love to cook, so I think that is how I will make friends with everyone. "Do y'all valley girls want some gumbo!?" It would probably be more like, "Uhm, hey.. so I was going to make some chicken enchiladas tonight.. do y'all like chicken enchiladas? If you don't, I can totally try something else. Or, are you allergic to chicken? I can make yours with tofu. I actually don't know how to cook tofu? Maybe I'll just make some ice. Is everyone good with ice? Okay! I'll go get started."

My mom told me a few weeks ago when I made my first mini road trip (6 hours away) that I don't always have to know the answers beforehand. I can just figure things out as I go. I will try to keep that in mind. The nice thing about life is that it will keep truckin' for you even if you find yourself in a rut. Basically, take a chill pill. *raids pill cabinet for chill pills*

I plan to make this summer wonderful and full of firsts. Not the typical 'I'm a party girl and this summer I'ma get c r a y z a y' firsts. I want to wake up before dawn, bring my yoga mat to the beach, soak up the sunrise and let the ocean breeze take my thoughts with it. I want to go for a bike ride on a sunny day and meet new people along the sidewalk. I want to drive with the windows down to new cities and check out the sights.

This blog is mainly for my friends and family to keep up with my fun stuff! Then again, it's also for me so I can look back and remember the great times I had.

So I guess this is hello and goodbye! I leave in one week and I am toaaaadally stoked, man.

-R