2.8

Ah, another birthday...
When I was a kid, I didn't get many gifts or had birthday celebrations. My parents were never into throwing parties and such for us.
Now here I am, much older, and very thankful for the people in my life for making up for those lost childhood moments I kinda longed for. I blame TV for that.
@ work my coworkers lavished me with flowers & goodies, and dim sum. My sister got me this:


one of the main contributors to my bloated stomach this week


Then Zach took me to Santa Barbara :)


My first time there & couldn't have asked for more.
We took Marley with us







Met with Rose & Ryan who happened to be there that weekend & @ the same hotel as us!


Zach bought me the best case for my iPhone (I'm blogging for the first time on my iPhone btw) & he also got me the coveted petal by the metal mbmj bag!
I got the wallet & other bag @ nordie's, courtesy of my brother who got me a gift card there.









We got back yesterday & had dinner @ boiling crab with some family & friends. I had never gone to Boiling Crab, and it was pretty good! Messy, but worth it!

Kira eating plain ole white rice

Summer Days Pt 2: Yosemite

August 13, 2011 was the first time I went to Yosemite & I fell in love.
Camping, dipping in the ice cold river, hiking the Sentinel Dome trail, Glacier Point, and sitting by campfire. Nature rocks.

Ty, Zach & Me @ Glacier Point



Glacier Point



Kira & Ron walking to Park Ranger event



Sentinel Dome Trail



Bridal Vail Falls



Gazing...



Campside



Group

Summer Days pt 1

Since SJSU cancelled my summer classes, I decided to plan a trip to New Orleans.
Hands down, the liveliest city I've ever been to.
The trip was all thanks to Miguel since I wanted to see him in concert performing my 2011 summer jam, "Sure Thing."
I saw that he was performing at the Essence Music Fest, so I ended up getting tickets to go...
Highlights:

Food


Stanley's Restaurant: Bridge Breaux Benedict



Beignets


Sangria @ the French Market

Essence Music Fest



Miguel



Usher closing the night



Inside the Festival - Superdome


The City



Street Music


Jackson Square


Bourbon St



Southern Homes - St. Charles St


MS River


That was the start of my summer and now it's winding down.
Other highlights (with more posts to come) include:
-5k run
-Watching SYTYCD and loving it again
-Food shows! Chopped, Cupcake Wars, & MASTERCHEF!
-Doing Mission Peak 2-3x/week
-Pinball Museum with Tyrine
-First trip to Yosemite
-Lazy afternoons @ Lake Elizabeth with Marley/Ipad/Zachary

4 Day Adventure

It all started on Wednesday night when Phili, Zach and I decided to head to LA to catch a taping of my favorite TV show at the moment, So You Think You Can Dance. It turned out to be one of the best trips ever. Everything just fell into place.

Entrance to CBS studio where the filming took place. First there was the 7:45am group dance, and then we came back to the live results taping at 3pm.

Picture Via Fox.com

I had a 'moment' with Brandon. Blew kisses at him like the little groupie I am. He smiled and blushed. So adorable.

Dinner @ Bossa Nova's after the 2nd taping.

Met up with Daryl @ Bossa Nova's and had yummy Sangria

Had Pink's at 10:30am to avoid the line. Haha. Zach and Phili never had, and they both loved.

Mmmm

After Pink's we headed to Chinatown and then returned home to the bay.

The very next day, I had volunteering to do at Scholastics, and afterwards, a mini Jr. High Reunion at BJ's.

On Sunday, it was Father's Day and the family traveled to Sacramento to meet up with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to celebrate.

My brother got my dad the shirt. It was a nice day.

The four days were tiring, but it was all so memorable.

Davis...

not talking about Baron Davis, but actually UC Davis. I went to my alma mater with Zach on monday to go pick up his brother, who will be attending the school this Fall. i miss the campus, the food, but definitely did not miss the weather. it was over 100 degrees and we were tired. however, we did get to make pit stops to some of my favorite places.

first stop was Sam's where I got to eat one of my favorite dishes, chicken schwarma on rice.























2nd stop was cicolat, so i can get my white chocolate mocha, with whip cream and chocolate sprinkles. i love this place. they make their own whip cream and their pastries are delicious.






















on our way back home, we stopped by the outlets. zach and i dropped by Coach to get Marley his 2nd coach collar, since the first one is now too small for him. check it out...he looks so fancy. haha