yes, another post so soon after.

i've been looking through different portrait photographers' websites and blogs for the past half hour or so.

one photographer that i like to follow is ben blood. he did engagement photos for two couples that i know and i seriously LOVE his photos.

this is a picture from one of his sessions...probably one of the CUTEST/most creative engagement shoots that i've ever seen. it showed so much of the couple's personality and character as well as their love for each other. totally fell in love with it.

if you wanna check out the whole thing & many other of his shoots, go to http://blog.benblood.com/.

when i get engaged/married, i'm gonna be so picky as to who our photographer is. i want them to be really good...even if they're one of the most expensive things that i pay for. as i've mentioned before, pictures mean a lot to me. like....a LOT.

one of my friends proposed to his gf a few weeks ago and you know how he did it? he invited several of their mutual friends to huntington gardens & he set up a photo scavenger hunt. they had to take pictures acting out certain things or posing in certain ways with different elements in the garden. then at the very end, they ended up in the gazebo, he got down on one knee, and pulled out the ring. :))))))

*insert happy, girly sigh.

honestly, if that were me, i would've LOVED that. it shows thoughtfulness, time, energy, effort, and best of all, good friends were around and pictures were taken to chronicle it all! idk how she felt about all of it, but i was seriously melting when i heard the story. it sounded absolutely perfect. :)

*happy sigh.

okay, that's enough girly-ness for now.

i should be heading off to bed! x]

g'night world! sweet dreams!

hmmm.

this is going to be harder than i thought.

=/

after talking things out and making sure that we understood each other,

i thought that things were going to be fine.

but...

i guess it's not as easy as i imagined.

*wise words from peter:

keep things in perspective.

lesson learned from recent events:

sometimes, less is more.

pool.

i was looking for pictures of swimming pools to put in the announcement slide for Compassio.

came across this picture & just had to share it.

pretty tight huh? :)

oh, today.

random things from today:

+ i need to perfect my smash in badminton. *my arm's gonna be sore tomorrow. =/

+ lesson learned: i will never play badminton with sid again. i will only watch.

+ i miss hula. i'm excited for our new dress!

+ movie theaters are so dumb. & so is 3-D.

+ toy story 3. good movie. NOT worth $14. -________-

+ weird store sign: "_________ more affordable than divorce." x]

+ the red bean teazer at ten ren disappointed me today. :(

+ love potion + roy + guy cashier. HAHAHAHAHAH! x]

+ i need to find my ipod. :(

mm, drayson felt so good today. i haven't been there in a week.

maybe swimming tomorrow? :)

g'night world!

*phew.

Youthical today was quite...interesting.

we suffered many technical difficulties, which really disappointed me.

after all of the hard work that we put into this, we needed things to run smoothly & we needed to sound good. what's the use in practicing so hard if the audience can't hear us?

but w/e. there are things that aren't in our control.

we're not professional.

i can't let it bother me.

i have to be proud of all of us.

i have to focus on the positive things.

like...

Youthical is so much more than a show or a fundraiser.

it's done a lot of things for us.

for example:

#1) it's given people a chance to do things that they normally wouldn't do. like giving solos to those who don't normally sing and letting them experience being on stage. or giving people a chance to choreograph dance. (case in point, me! i've never choreographed anything in my life before...but i choreographed some hip hop and waltz-y stuff for tonight! & it was so much fun!)

#2) it brought all of us closer together as friends. and we got to know people that we normally wouldn't hang out with. i've spent well over 50 hours with these people working on this project. i was there at 6pm and didn't leave til 10:30/11:00p.m. everyday. last sunday, i had dance practice for 5 hours and 3 hours the next day. trust me, i've spent a LOT of time with those people. but it's been good. :)

#3) it brought the community together and let them be proud of their young people. we proved to the adults that we are capable of doing something as big as this by ourselves. we had no adult guidance whatsoever...it was all run by us.

i need to let the critical perfectionist side of me let go of all of the errors, off-notes, and mess-ups from tonight.

tonight was a good night. i was running out of breath by the end bc of all the outfit changes right after another, but i had a LOT of fun & i'm really proud of us.

"we are a family // like a giant tree // branching out to the sky // we are a family // we are so much more // than just you and i."

here's to you, Youthical cast!

thanks for an amazing experience. :)))

*now off to bed for badminton in 7.5 hours...& then hula practice afterwards!

ps. thanks God. :) i hope you enjoyed the show tonight!

stressed.

whoever thought that summertime was the time for stress? =/

not me, at any rate.

i'm about to scream & pull my hair out...there are so many things that i need to do!

and i'm really nervous! :(

here are a few of the bajillion things going through my mind right now...

+ i have to teach sabbath school on saturday. one of my least favorite jobs. junior high kids are a TOUGH crowd. i looked over the lesson once, but i need to figure out how to make it engaging. my last experience was a terrible one. it made me want to never teach there again. but this week i'm obligated too. :( & i have such little time to work on it tomorrow. :((

+ i need to figure out all of my costumes & changes for youthical. still haven't done that! might need to go shopping real quick tomorrow, but i hardly have any time for that. =/

+ i'm missing dress rehearsal tomorrow bc i have to be at Compassio, and that is REALLY stressing me out. i NEED to be at dress rehearsal. i need to make sure that i have enough time to change in-between songs & whatnot...the glee medley quick change makes me nervous. idk if i have enough time.

+ i need to memorize the words to two of my songs. haven't done that yet. AGGGGGHHH.

+ i need to come up with a game for Compassio tomorrow and make a slide. i'm so bad at games...i have no idea what to do!!!

+ glee club practice tomorrow. our first performance is next week and only three people have showed up for practice. how am i sppsd to work with that?! plus i need soloists for "dream on" the week after that. i need my sheet music for "imagine" to come in ASAP!!!! & i need to finish figuring out the sign language part for "imagine" so that i can teach everyone.

+ we just practiced one of the Youthical songs tonight....for the first time.............

enough said.

QWEPROIJADLS;KFJQPOEFJASL;DK

do you see why i'm feeling just a liiiiiitttttttlleeeee bit like a headless chicken running around in circles?!?! my head hurts bc i haven't been getting enough sleep. i'm so tired, but there are so many things that i need to do!!! :((

*sigh*

oh, Lord.....help me, help me.

i'm so nervous that i'm missing dress rehearsal tomorrow...

& that i haven't gotten my words memorized...

or my outfits finalized..

ugh, there i go again. & the cycle of stressful thoughts repeat themselves. =/

perfect timing.

^{from my friend's tumblr.}

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:6-7

this fit in perfectly with everything that's been going on.

from the fact that i'm really nervous & stressed out cause craig's gone & i have to manage everything...

to being stressed out about career decisions and school decisions...

this was just what i needed to read.

i'm trying to redirecting my focus.

oh help me, Lord.