I was productive today! I went over to Betty's, one of the cooks @ Owen, to help her paint a room. It took me 8 hrs to paint that little room. I hate the windows as there were many panels that I have to tape and paint, it was just time consuming.

---

Those are the damn windows and there was another window on the other wall. The wall was originally baby blue and the pic was only of the first coat ..... I think u are still able to see a tinge of the blue ...... or not :P
---

Betty stayed in the kitchen painting it a deep red which I really like. I think we both were very productive :) My hand is a little sore and I can feel my neck tensing up ...... better bring out the hot wrap.

Will be going over to Jeff and Yuchien's to help them mow the lawn again :) The doctor told him that he should not be driving for 2 weeks. It gives me the opportunity to play with my toy again! Must remember to wear sun screen this time .... got a nasty burn the last time.

Serena the Procrastinator

So, my car has been giving me trouble for about a mth, at first I just thought it was a fluke and did not think twice but then it seemed to get worst. I was having trouble accelerating and when the car was at a stop, it was jerky, plus when reversing the engine would die sometimes! Well, after spending so much money on the car already, I was dreading going back to the shop to get it looked at again. I was already planning to spend about US$500 on the repairs and I was not looking forward to it.

So I just kept driving it, hoping that the problem would just dissappear, but all along also praying that the car wouldn't die on me while driving. Well, after coming home from Vegas, I knew that I had to bring it in, if I had to spend the money, I would have to.

It did cross my mind whether I should bring it in to the same shop as my car never had any problem b4 I brought it in for the first time to that shop ......

Anyway, I made it to the repair shop and it was the same guy that helped me the last 2 times. I told him the problems I was having he just nodded his head and said he would look at it. He drove my car into the garage and open the hood ..... I was holding my breath while waiting for him to tell me what the problem was and how much the damage was going to be :(

He looked and prodded ..... hmm, something is missing, he said. WTF? what is missing I thought. Fiddled a little more and then he said, no wonder ...... I saw him playing with one of the hose/wire which seemed loose. He then did more tinkering in the car with a mechanical reader thingy and then he asked me whether I have been playing around with it ..... ME? I know NOTHING about cars, just to fill them up and drive them. I am prob the best person to sucker! I told him no and that I have brought it here twice b4.

Finally, after tinkering for awhile more, he said that it should be ok now ...... he said that all that was wrong was that the hose connected to the spark plug wasn't attached. WTF? So it was their fault! I have not open my hood since the last time I was at the shop! I then asked him how much do I owe him and he said NOTHING! :) since I have spent so much money here already......

DUH! It was prob their fault in the first place that the hose was not reattached. But I was so relieved that I did not have to spend more money on my car. Sure enough, while driving home, SERENA7 was purring like a kitten ..... geeze, it would have cost me so much less stress if I would have just taken it in the first time I noticed there was a problem. Thank god I did not damage my car more while drving without one spark plug attached ........

Viva Las Vegas!!

I am back from my trip and I had a great time. One the first day, after reaching Vegas and driving more than 5hrs to LA, we made our way to the chinese theater where all the handprints/footprints are and also to see the stars on the sidewalks.

---

Here's me and the Star Trek signatures.
---

We stayed at the Hilton and this was taken in the lobby.
---

On the second day, we went to the WB tour where they brought u into the studios where they do all their filming.

Here's us on the FRIENDS couch in Central Perk
---

After the tour, we went to see a live taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He had Regis as a guest and after that, Ringo Starr performed. It was pretty awsome and Jay was really funny. After the show, we made our way to have a closer look at the Hollywood sign.

---

Here's Nikki and I on top of a hill while trying to get closer to the sign.
---

This sign was located at the basement of the Hilton's parking garage. U find alot of these signs throughout LA.
---

Having a few drinks at the Hard Rock Hotel on our last night in LA.
---

We made our way back to Vegas on Wed. We laid out at the pool for a few hrs and then did a little shopping.

---

Here's Amanda and I in front of New York New York, the hotel that we stayed in during the first 2 days in Vegas.
---

We visited the M&M store where I bought some shirts for Danielle's kids.
---

On Thur, we went to the Grand Canyon .... it is really GRAND .... we walked about 2-3 miles b4 finally tiring out. Thank god they have a free shuttle which took us back to where we started :)
---

Another pic of me at the Canyon.
---

On Fri, we had lunch at Margaritaville b4 checking into our 3rd hotel for the trip.

---

Here's me lounging in a chair infront of the restaurant ... it's 5 o'clock somewhere :)
---

We stayed at the Bellagio which was cost alot but with the 5 of us squeezing into a room, it wasn't so bad. Amir was the one that got stuck with the floor :(

---

This was the view out of our hotel room at the Bellagio. It was the best view ... the last 2 hotels had views of parking garages. I laid out at the pool for about more than an hr, Nikki was with me but the heat did her in after about 15mins. The big pools were heated while the little ones with the fountains were cold.
---

Here's our room.
---

The bathroom
---

Me with my first purchase at Tiffany's :)
---

Here's me at the top of the Stratasphere, check out the view!
---

The COACH store at Ceasars Palace where I bought a bag :) I spent way too much $!!!!!
---

On the last day there, Amir, Amanda and I went to the Wax Museum, it was pretty cool! You got to get really close to all the figures. Some of them looked pretty real but some just looked wierd.

---

Amanda and I making out with Hugh
---

Amanda and I with the Beatles!
---

Die Bush DIE!! :)
---

We spent so much time trying to find this damn sign. Someone directed us to the wrong side of the strip. This was the last stop that we made b4 we went to the airport.
---

I took alot more pics (more than 200, alot of them were scenic shots) that I have posted in the Photo Album area, so if u have some time on your hands, pls check them out!

When I was in Vegas, Yuchien called me with bad news, Jeff had a heart attack. I was shocked as he is a very active man ...... he built his own house! ... and he is only in his early 40s. When I came home, I visited him in in hospital and he is doing alot better. He had to have an angioplasty to clear is blood vessel .... it is was the same surgery that my mom had to have when she had her heart attack. Like my mom, Jeff will have to be on medication for the rest of his life.

He was in the ICU for a couple of days but he should be making his way home on Mon. When I was there, he seemed to be in pretty high spirits, joking around and stuff. The doctor told him that he would have to stay home for about 3 mths, take things slow. It is going to be a tough job for Yuchien as Jeff can't sit still and plus, now is the wedding season!

I'm in VEGAS!!!! Jealous? :)

Come back in a week for an update and tons of pics!

DeLuca's

Amy will be moving to Missouri for good next Fri so a few of us decided to go out for dinner. We went to DeLucas which is a pretty good Italian restaurant famous for it's pizza. We went at 6pm and surprisingly it was packed! Fortunately the gals got there b4 me and got a table. I got a little lost and so was about 5mins late.

I was good ..... the pizza, pasta, cheese bread etc. were so tempting! But I just got a salad .... it was enormous and I had to take half of it home with me even after Yuchien ate some of it ... should have ordered the half, but it was only $1 more.
---

Me, Amy and Yuchien
---

Here's Hannah looking at me very suspiciously ..... I stole her doggy hangbag earlier which caused her to cry! But the moment I gave it back to her, she came crawling to me .....

but she came crawling to me because she wanted to check out my purse! Here she is rummaging through it. She loved my chapstick but Suzette warned me not to let her eat it, she thinks it is candy ...... which was even more dangerous 'cos all my chapstick were fruit flavored :)
---

Hannah and Suzy
---

Amy and I
Her real name is Eaimee, but everyone calls her Amy as it is just easier to pronouce :)
---

Here's one of my very best friends Yuchien!
---

Hannah, Suzy and I. Suzette was one of my supervisors at Owen Cafeteria.
---

I had a really good time and it was nice to go out for dinner. We are already planning another dinner for b4 I leave :) Suzette also wants to bring Yuchien shopping for new curtains as all she has covering her bedroom window is a sheet. Shopping? You can always count me in for shopping :)

Went babysitting again today and got wet while playing in the sprinklers. Did not want to in the beginning but of course Caylinn dragged me into and I went. Went for a nice walk around the neighbourhood and saw same pretty fancy houses. But the most exciting thing that happened was that I busted my lip. Well, the girls were playing, jumping over/on me and Bre slip and bumped her head on my lip. OUCH!! There were of course other words that I wanted to yell out but I was with kids so I kept it G rated. First I check if it was bleeding, nope, then I checked if my teeth were loose, nope. Thank god! Was afraid that there was going to be repeat of Liz's accident :) I can't afford it .... I have no insurance!

Going to DeLuca's with a few friends tomorrow ..... YUM! Pretty excited about it. One of the few Italian restaurants not hit with the norovirus. Doing pretty well on my diet, lost some but not enough to brag about ...... Serena, don't blow it tomorrow! Carbs are evil!

Went to work today and met the mom from last night's wedding when she came back for champange glasses that the groom drunkenly left behind.

Here's how the conversation went ......

Mom: You guys did a great job, everybody said the food was great .... blah blah blah ....
Me: Thanks! *smiles*

This was how it went in my head ....

Mom: You guys did a great job, everybody said the food was great .... blah blah blah ....
Me: Thanks! By the way, thanks for the tip that u gave us. Oh, wait a minute, u didn't leave us a tip. YOU BITCH!!!!!! *smiles*

I just spent an hr trying to balance my damn checkbook. It was so frustrating ...... I kept adding and subtracting but could not find what the hell went wrong. Given that I last balanced it in March, I guess I kinda derserved it. The good news was that I found that I had more money than I thought :) However, trying to balance the last $10 was excruciating! I had no idea why I was still short of $10. Eventually I found out that it was a STUPID subtracting error.

Looks like switching from a Math major to Communications was the right move to make ........

Babysitting Caylinn and Bre

Was able to play with Bre alone today b4 Caylinn came home from sch and it was quite fun. When Caylinn came home, she started showing me all her work that she had brought home from sch. B4 we had the chance to run around outside, Danielle came home. However, I stayed on and played with the girls. Running around, playing on the swing (which I was paranoid that I would break with my huge ass sitting on it).

Here are some pics that I took .....

Here's Brianne

---

Here's Caylinn on the swing.
---

Here's she is being silly.
---

She is so pretty :)
---

The moment Bre saw me with my camera, she had to get her's too. Here she is running around with her camera :) She even hijacked my camera for awhile and wouldn't return it to me. Luckily my camera survived and she did not delete and pics while randomly pushing buttons.
---

So cute!
---

And of cos I forgot to take a pic of the Mustang ...... one of the reasons I brought the camera in the first place! Well, I'll be back next Thur.

Counting down the days to Vegas ...... 12 more days!! I just received tics to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Really excited about that ..... Nikki sent in for tics more than a mth back and they finally arrived on Mon.

Have been doing ok on my diet, cheated a little last Sat. when I was working. But I am back on track now. Hopefully I can resist the damn wedding cake that is always there. DAMN CAKE! However, it has really helped that I have been staying home and cooking my own meals. It is really hard when u are out there and there are so many temptations.

Was bored today and so I did my laundry, cleaned the bathroom, watch more tv .... Star Trek TNG! Going over to Danielle's tomorrow to babysit .... gotta remember to bring my camera this time!

Groan ...... my whole body aches. It was a long work day yesterday because of the 1 1/2 hr travel that was needed to get there. I was up at 7am and didn't reach home till close to 1am.

There were 2 weddings yesterday and I have to say it wasn't a perfect day for a wedding. It started off pretty well, it wasn't too hot or too cold, the sun was shining. Unfortunately, just as the outdoor wedding was taking place, it started to rain. They decided to continue with the wedding outside, with guests taking cover underneath trees. It stopped for a while, but then it started up again and this time it poured! Everyone ran into the barn to take cover ..... they were all drenched.

It poured for awhile and then it stopped again. This left the ground muddy and there were puddles everywhere (we were on a farm). When guests for the other wedding started arriving, we could see the dark clouds not too far away. Looks like it was going to rain again ....... sure enough, down it came! I was getting soaked just by running short distances from the parvillion to the barn.

During the 1 1/2hr drive home, Helena and I were both tired out ...... my feet was hurting and Helena's back was sore. I did think of going on my computer but the moment I stepped into my room, all I wanted to do was change into my pjs and crawl into bed .... and I did. Within 10mins, I was dead asleep and dreaming .......

Today was just a lazy day for me. I finally woke up close to noon and wasn't surprised that my whole body ached. Maybe tomorrow I will be more productive :)

Babysitting was fun but tiring. As always, I ended running outside playing with the girls. It was so hard trying to catch Caylinn, she is one fast 6 year old ........ or, I'm just getting old and out of shape. She also tried to teach me how to do a cartwheel ...... geeze, I have never been able to do a cartwheel but Caylinn kept insisting that I could ...... "it's easy!" she kept saying. ARRRGGG!!! It sure did tons for my ego when a little kid kept telling me I could and all I have to do it try harder. She kept trying to show me step by step but I just could not ...... guess I was a little afraid. Did not want to risk falling infront of her and plus, I did not think that my arms could hold up my fat ass. But it was still fun, no hard feelings :)

Bre continues to astonish me. She is so smart! Just unable to voice out her thoughts. At one point the girls decided to play dress-up and Bre immediately stripped AND took out her diaper! What the?!?! I looked at her and told her that she better not pee ...... I told Caylinn that she would have to clean it up if Bre pees as it was her that thought of the game. Thank god there wasn't any accidents and I had her back in diapers after about 20mins.

After I came home, I was hooked on the National Spelling Bee ..... I was watching it b4 I left for Danielle's. Don't know why but I was just glued to it. I don't think I know any of the words that had to be spelled ...... and I am a college graduate! Geeze, the kids were like KIDS! Most of them were like 14 or younger. Sigh .... wonder if they made them spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
OK ..... YES! I had to search the web for the correct spelling for the word! As if u could have spelled it ..... :P

It's diet time ..... I can't believe how much weight I have gained. Well, the scale doesn't lie. But it is time to get serious ..... I need to lose some weight b4 Vegas. I have less than 3 weeks to do it. How much can I lose this these few weeks? At least now I'm not at Owen so there are so many less temptations. Want to go out for a run but who am I kidding? It's too damn hot!

I have yet to turn on the air conditioner in the living room, but it just seems like once I turn it on, I am giving in .... I MUST BE STRONG! It is still relatively tolerable. There isn't an air-con in my room :( ... fortunately, the weather seems to be cooling down a little. Plus, I just this could be practice for my trip to Vegas ..... the highs are supposed to be in the 100s. I better get a good tan b4 I go or I am sure going to get toasted. Well, I already got toasted slightly .... remember the day I went to mow the lawn? Well, I got pretty burnt and it was hurting for a few days after that.

Going to babysit Danielle's kids tomorrow .... she has air! LOL, who am I kidding? I will prob be running around playing with the gals and the games that Caylinn comes up with. Why is it called babySITTING?

Chicks Are #1

Yippee! The Chicks have hit the Billboard and Country album charts at NUMBER 1! All those who boycotted them ..... TAKE THAT!