this is me

My Royal Obsession

2011-03-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

It all started with the events on 29 April 2011 which marks the day that Prince William will marry Kate Middleton! I am so very excited!:)

Go figure right? YAY!

Well today at work, we were so slow! :)

and I got to some reading.... on the Royal Wedding and the Royal family life.

First of all, I am so fascinated that the Queen of England is still thriving at the age of 85. She has seen a lot in her life as she was crowned Queen at age 25.

Secondly, I think London is amazing and it constantly captivates my attention. Hence, the obsession! :)

So... in my studying of the Queen I found an interesting story that I have been engrossed in for hours. When the Queen was born, she was the third in line for the prestigious entitlement. However it was not expected that her father would become King OR that she would become Queen. Her fate changed the day that her Grandfather King George V passed away.

The next in line was her Uncle soon to be King Edward VIII. He quickly took on the new role of King despite the speculation surrounding the love he had for a twice divorced American socialite Mrs. Wallis Simpson! Apparently, marrying a divorce was not allowed! And it caused much speculation! He was abdicated and left the throne for his love!

Here is a photo of them after their Wedding and honeymoon! Can you imagine giving up everything for the Love of your life? Even if that meant, the chance to be KING?

Later after Edward's abdication, his brother born as Prince Albert who would become King George VI, gave him the name Duke of Windsor. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor lived "Happily ever after" and avoided the Royal family for quite a while I would say.

Sooooo the point of this post.... IF Prince Edward, at one time King Edward VIII, had not left the throne to be with his love..... Prince Albert who later became King George VI would not be in succession to the throne and then might of had a daughter named Elizabeth, but we would not know her as the Queen of England, then Elizabeth might of had a son named Charles and he might of married a beautiful woman named Diana, but We would not know her as the beautiful Princess Diana ...... ANNNND there might have been a wedding for their son, but we would NOT as Prince William's wedding!!!! I remember him being small and now he is all grown up and getting married!!!!

okay okay, I am a tad crazy! BUT... I think it is so awesome how details work out the way they do! I am literally in "awe" at how all details work out the way they do! I know that my heavenly father orchestrated MY details perfectly and I know that EVERY minute of my life is planned out by him! It just boggles my mind at how detailed details can be!!!

sooo that is that. I love the royal history and I can not wait to read more about the rest of the family! :)

Here are some more royal photos that I found today!

oh please, if this is at all interesting to you... read about it on Wikipedia!

This is a photo of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and Prince Albert on their wedding day!

Who became the Queen Mother and King George VI.

The Queen gained her name "Queen Mother because after her mother-in-law died, after her brother-in-law was living abroad and her eldest daughter was Queen, she became the senior member of the Royal family and the Family's Matriarch. She passed away in 2002, at the age of 101! WOW! I was a Junior in high schooL!

and the icing on the cake... the Queen of England and I have something in common! She was married on November 20th! :)

and they are still married today! In 2010, on our wedding day, they celebrated their 66th Wedding anniversary! WOW!

and with that... it is time to go!

I hope you enjoyed reading!

Goodbye London!

Hello Hello!

2011-03-15T15:49:00.001-07:00

It has been ages since I have posted anything!

I love to share my thoughts and I have missed doing so.

Well since the last time I posted I got married!!! :) Best day in my life!

(This is the first photo taken as hubby and wife!)

It was such a great day with my love and my closest family and friends.

Everything was a dream come true! From there we went to Costa Rica for our honeymoon!

Ammmmazing! :) I'll have to post some pictures on that later. There are so many to go through!

January came FAST and Geoff stared Paramedic School at UCLA's Daniel Freeman. It has been a rough course, but he is doing excellent and scoring about a 90% in the class. He studies through out the week and works all weekends. I don't see him that often but when we are together it is super special.

I Celebrated 6 months at Prudential California Realty. I am not that familiar with Real Estate but I am well learning slowly! Everyday, I am challenged with something new.

We got our kitties fixed. :( It was so sad. Yes, it needed to be done but they looked so helpless. It was nice to take care of them. A little expensive, but it was nice.

Lets see... February went by really fast as well. We celebrated many meals with friends as an official married couple. It was so great to be with the ones who love us most and supported us on our wedding day.

I watched a complete game of the SuperBowl. Geoff and I even had bets on the game... We won $75 bucks! :) It was super exciting. I think next year I am going to watch the entire game again!

We celebrated our first married Valentine's day! It was so special. I made heart shaped raviolis. We had special wine and lots of kisses. I even got TWO cards! With the cute gold seals!

Now that March is here, I just can't believe it! Geoff and I have been doing very good. Taking one day at a time and communicating the best we can. In the first couple months we have had our little fights and our "big" fights. There have been tears, but there has always been a hug and a kiss to follow. Yes I am usually the one crying for something so little, but Geoff knows that I am trying really hard and he appreciates it. :)

Around 7:00 each night we try to watch Jeopardy and have our brains tested. Geoff wins all of the games, but I put up a good fight! Last night was 5 to 8! That is really close!

We love spending time together and I am anxious to go home tonight. I think next week (or next month) I am going to try and make a meal every night. Something healthy of course, but that is my goal for now.

In the mean time, I am in the process of making a list of things to do during my 26th year of life. :) I have my golden birthday in 3 months and I am sooo excited! When I was little someone told me about this special birthday when I turn the age of the date of my birthday. Did that make sense? My birthday is on the 26th and I turn 26. Sound better?

With that I will try to post more! I am excited for what 2011 will bring. As of the first couple months, It brought a lot of saddness and death, but I am over that now! Looking to happiness and smiles!

xoxoxo,

Crystal Marie Canty ARAI

Below are some special photos on the wedding day. I have soooo many! :)

Geoff wrote me a letter to calm my nervous on our wedding day! It is such a sweet letter... I might frame it! :)

Rachel did an excellent job at squeezing me into my dress! She is an excellent Maid of Honor!

Our beautiful Flowergirls. Oh my gosh! They are so precious! I just love them!

This last photo is our wedding reception at the Crowne Plaza. Ahhhh a wonderful venue! I was in heaven!

inspired

2010-10-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

and I can not wait for our wedding!!!!

When it rains, it pours.

2010-10-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

Today. October 19, 2010

Mondays. geesh.

2010-10-18T16:34:00.001-07:00

Since our engagement, everyone has told me, "Don't sweat the small stuff." Even I have been at fault for telling my friends and clients this ridiculous statement. Well, I guess the statement is not entirely ridiculous. It is true. Brides should relax and not panic when something small creeps up in the last month before the wedding day. Brides should take deep breaths when dealing with all things. They should. It is not what we tend to do.

The desire to plan a perfect wedding with no flaws actually seems like a fausible thing to do. But that is the insanity talking. That is the lack of sleep. That is the desire to please everyone including yourself. Ah! Silly things that take over when you are a bride to be. Honestly, I am a better bridesmaid. I am better at having someone tell me all the little details and try to actively help HER find a remedy. I, being the bride, am awful at asking for help. I just pile everything on my plate and do it. It is hard to have 8 bridesmaids at my disposal (not including countless family and friends) and ask for them to help me in my time of panic. Instead, I go go go until I am too tired and then in my sleep deprivity I cry... or I obsess.
I am telling you it's not a good look on me.

This weekend, I cried on the way to pick up the groomen's bowties. My bottom lip quivered and then tears just streamed from my eyes... and in 10 minutes I was fine. I am not sure why. Geoff looked at me, and said "are you really crying!" after shaking my head and giving him puppy dog eyes, I sheepishly admitted I was. Then in a couple minutes, I was fine. I am not sure what stopped me from crying. and I am not sure what started it all.
This weekend, I swore that ONE rsvp card was missing. ONE. And after twenty minutes of frantically searching, I realized the "card" I thought I saw was the tag on their wedding gift.

Weddings. geez!

Today, was better. No crying. No obsessing. and then a girl at the office shares with our staff that her Cancer has come back.

I don't know how I could EVEN think of freaking out over such small things when SUCH A HUGE AND SAD thing could happen in an instant! I felt so guilty.
Guilty for being so "lucky" to be planning a wedding and have the opportunity to be soo happy but I chose something else. I chose to let my situation get the better of me. :(

Mondays are not for the faint of heart I guess. I am taking this news as a sign...
"DON'T STRESS THE SMALL STUFF!"

With this ring.... I thee wed

2010-10-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

I picked up Geoffrey's wedding ring today and as I held the 6 mm white gold wedding band in my hand I got a teennnnssyyyyy weeeeensssssy bit teary eyed. I couldn't believe that "with this ring I thee wed" my best friend... Geoffrey Patrick Arai!

There is so much significance that goes into that little ring, a circle being endless and timeless. Never ending. It will be a symbol to everyone that we are one. That Geoff and I are forever.

My Nana used to always say that the wedding ring is worn on the Left hand and on the third finger because that finger is a direct line to your heart. Geoff's 13.5 Ring finger is his direct connection to his heart and then to me. :) I have had the honor to look at my wedding ring for the last 2 years of our engagement and with the ring, there has been a lot of emotion. Some days, I was so flustered with our relationship, I took my ring off and left it at home. Some days, my heart was so scared about growing up, I would twist it on my hand and pray for us. Most days, I look at it and smile. I like to think that when it sparkles back at me, Geoff is thinking of me.

I am so excited to give him his ring on our wedding day!

I even had it enscribed "Forever mine and Forever Yours" Geoff gave me a beautiful locket for Christmas last year and he enscribed that saying onto my locket. It sits at my chest. Touching my heart all day. I am keeping the ring and the engraving a secret so that he can be surprised. :)

I am so excited to say "with this ring, I thee wed!"

No flash photograhy.

2010-10-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

I am completly bummed. :(
I just recieved confirmation from our church coordinator that there is

NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ONCE THE SERVICE HAS STARTED!

:( boo.
The photographer in me is so worried about getting all the shots I want! I hate when I can't shoot with flash. It worries me. What if Bridesmaid X walks too fast and I miss her walking down the aisle? Whenever I go to weddings, and I miss that shot, I always feel safe knowing that the photographer got the shot! But now... our photographers can't use flash! :( I know I shouldn't be worried about such a small detail. THat is for Max and John to worry about, but what if? Photographers aren't cheap! I don't want to be disapointed when my parents are spending that kind of money on a detail that can't be just perfect :(
It just burdened my Monday. Honestly, I was dreading hearing those words, so I wanted to put it off but Mom just had to ask! I am glad she did though, this gives the photographers ample time to pracice their quick shots.
I will have to remind everyone to walllllkkkkk slloooooowwwllllyyyyyy.

do ra me fa so la te do

2010-10-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

I love MUSIC. It simply touches my heart. For the wedding I wanted sooo many songs but I just wasn't sure which ones. I KNEW I wanted "The Prayer" by Josh Groban. I knew that I had to find any way possible to have it in our wedding.

I am so blessed to have a cousin who is INCREDIBLY talented!!!! Ashley Zerillo is FANTASTIC! We knew she would do an ammmmmmazing job for our wedding, and since she is a music major at Vanguard University she has an orchestra of people at her fingertips. Sooo here is OUR MUSIC TEAM and OUR SONG!!!! :) I am beeeeyyyyyyoooooooonnnnnnnd exctatic to have this song be a part of the wedding day! Not simply because it SOUNDS amazing but because of the WORDS! AH! I love it! so Sit back and enjoy and get ready

coming to a mailbox near you

2010-10-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

It is official. The invitations are OUT!

6 months later.....

2010-09-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone!? It literally FLEW BY! I can not believe all of the things that have happened in the last 6 months or so. Even though time runs through our fingers, I am grateful for friendships that last forever. Regardless of the ever present ticking clock. Corinna, thank you for encouraging me to write an update. I love expressing my heart. Thank you also for being such a great friend even though time and distance separates us. I miss you so much and can not WAIT until we are reunited again!!!

Soooo 6 months ago ? Hmmm......

Well, Since that last post in March? Geoff and I have graduated from CSULA, We bought a home, I had a 25th birthday, weddings and birthdays galore, Rachel came home for my bridal shower, we worked and worked on the home, We bought the cutest kitties, and lots of wedding details are getting checked off! I am sure there is so much that I am missing, but that is a brief overview! so here is the recap in pictures!
I had to include a picture of Bella and Mia. They are just the cutest! We got them in January and Febuary. I don't know why I haven't posted anything about them before.

Geoff and I graduated from CSULA and I turned 25!!! How wild is that!??! Mom was so soooo good to us and threw us an intimate celebration with our dearest family and friends. I am in love with this cake. It is a beautiful design from Cake Divas. The people that are designing our wedding cake! It is filled with Sweet potatoe cake and brown sugar cream cheese frosting! yummmm! I am so excited to taste our wedding cake!!! I can't WAIT!!!!!! :) My sister Rachel is just the BEST! She is studying for her Masters in Missouri but came ALL the way home for my Wedding shower! She is SUCH A GREAT maid of honor! I am blessed to have such a great sister and friend. We went to Cowboy Country in Long Beach. Rachel and Esther put their thinking caps on and we had a great time! I am such a blessed bride! Kira made us all these wonderful shirts! The girls shirts said "Bride Entourage" and mine said "I said YES!" aw. I love my big wonderful bridal party! :)
We were house hunting for a long time and finally in June we found OUR home, and early June we closed Escrow. phew! It was a loooooong emotional journey but finally it is ours! Geoff and I are so happy to have our own home. We know we will have to work very hard to keep it but it is something we WANT to do. Here is the finished product, but SOOO many little details went into this beautiful home on Cerise Blvd. My parents, my papa, and my brother have definatley earned their keep at our house! THey have worked countless hours and devotion into our home. We are SOOOO blessed to have them in our life! When we bought our home, it had tile in the living room. That is all I will say about the tile. :) It wasn't a favorite, but when it came down to it we were just going to "deal with it." Mom didn't like that. So we did a little investegating. There was hard wood floor underneath!!!! Papa so diligently removed each tile!!!! In our living room AND kitchen!

This was Geoff and I's biggest project. Unfortunatley, during this house fixing up process, we worked quite a bit so we weren't around to help with the tile or the grass. Things like that. So we got to lacker the fence! on both sides! Our side was easy. just tedious. However, the neighbor behind us literally has a forest on his side, so that was quite hard to accomplish. There were lots of dead spiders, and crushed bugs in our efforts but at least we accomplished our job! Geoff and I are a great team and it was fun having a project with him like this! :)Dad is the expert painter in the family so he had the job of painting the walls (interior and exterior) the fixtures and so much more! Dad enlisted his trusty intern and son to follow in his footsteps! Josh did a wonderful job helping and basically listening to whatever Dad told him to do. He learned painting techniques and I believe he really enjoyed himself! :)

Oh! They also sanded and primed ALL of the walls too! Since our house was a Bank owned property, the bank quickly painted everything with a fresh coat of paint so it would look great to sellers. Well, haha it did look good to us and we bought it. After we were in the house for some time, we noticed the paint peeling off the walls!!! That meant we had a lot of hard work to do! Sooo we got to peeling, sanding, priming and then EVENTUALLY painting. Everytime I went to the house, I wanted to paint but it was never the time! sooo Mom and I got to paint the shutters outside. We had fun painting these becuase they were going to add so much accent to the outside of our home. :)

Literally every INCH of our home has been touched with LOVE. Literally every part of our home has been blessed by my parents, my family, and of course the Lord's blessings. I pray for the house everytime we leave and return and I KNOW that we are protected inside and outside. The Lord is good. ALL the time. My mom carved this outside of our bedroom window. Isn't she the cutest?! I put the leaf there for a fall touch! :)

We will be forever working on our home... and there is so much that has been done. The next project for our Cerise home is... our bedroom set! It will be delivered by the end of October! :)

These precious kitties are the newest additon to our hectic lives! :) They calm us though. It is fun to play with them, watch them sleep and cuddle them. They were a complete accident. Mom took Bella and Mia to the Animal hospital for their shots etc and while she was there the staff informed her that someone dropped off a box of kittens the night before! These precious kitties got their shots and everything from the vet and were ready to be adopted. Mom sent me a picture of their brother, an orange tabby cat, and I instantly fell in love! I called Geoff and told him and he wanted to check them out. He was not opposed to having a kitty. So we went to look. After holding Lucy (on the bottom) in our hands, we were falling in LOVE! Geoff asked, do you have any more? The lady responded, well yeah, there were 10 altogether! So she went and got us another little girl who just got her shots. (Lily on top). Done deal. Geoff said "we'll take 'em both" and like that we were out the door. From there we headed to the pet store to buy all the essentials. They are the cutest kitties and we are blessed to have them!

Well now that I have briefly updated the last 6 months of my life, I will try to update more often as the wedding comes MUCH CLOSER! I haven't even briefed about the wedding. Well here is one update I will give as I am at my new job and shouldn't be playing on Blogspot for too long!

These are my wedding heels! They are burgundy (go figure!) and oh so cute! I got them from Nordstrom during their anniversary sale! I wanted to get my dress hemmed in my tallest shoes (that I will wear for our 1st dance) so I know I wouldn't trip! I love love love them! and Geoff and I practiced dancing in them last night and they are comfy! I will be rather tall on the wedding day! sooo all of you shorties. beware! haha :)

I will update soon with wedding things! There are so so so many details that are still on our lists but they are slowly getting checked off and that is soooo very exciting!

Ciao Ciao

not entirely wedding related

2010-03-23T00:23:00.001-07:00

I went to the LA marathon this Sunday and it was amazing! Out of 250, 000 people running I was lucky enough to see my 3 friends actually run in the race! It was more than a race it was empowering. It was an incredible blessing to be there for people as they ran and completed such a monumental task. I received this letter in my facebook inbox this morning,

"dear crystal,

i just wanted to thank you soooo much for being there around mile 18 yesterday. i was in so much pain and having such a hard time and seeing your face and your words of inspiration really helped give me that push to not give up. it was especially meaningful because you were the only person on the whole course who I knew that was cheering for me! (other than my husband at the beginning and end, of course). I know you had two other friends running also, but you didn't have to wait for me, and I want you to know how much I really appreciate it. I might not have made it to the end without you!"

wow. honestly, this almost made me cry. For starters, she is right, we were at that mile marker waiting for Esther. We didn't know if Esther had passed us or if she was still on her way. As we waited, we cheered on a lot of people and in the middle of the crowd, here comes Lessa. WOW! I was so relieved to see her! She looked tired and beaten down and I hugged her and told her how proud I was! I had no idea how much seeing me would mean to her. As she walked past me, I felt relieved and then anxious to see Esther! As it turned out, we actually missed Esther crossing the finish line. As soon as we arrived to mile 18, Esther had JUST passed and by the time we realized it was too late. The traffic was too thick and we were too far. We missed her and thirty minutes after she finished Todd was finally able to see her! it was anti-climatic as some would say and that made me sad. However, when I got this message, I knew that we were there for a reason! I knew that us waiting was significant. I am so glad I was able to cheer Lessa on in her moment of weakness. That moment will mean ALOT to me for the rest of my life.

I know what it is like to be down and I know what it is like to have that one person cheer you on! Lately, wedding things have been rather.... tense BUT I know that I have one person cheering me on NO MATTER WHAT and saying "I am here for yoU!"

God is good ALL THE TIME. in a literal running marathon or in life marathon. I am glad God gave me a human example of what it means to always have a friend in Him.

and with that....

I will say goodnight.

xoxo

Save the Date

2010-03-05T22:26:00.000-08:00

November 20, 2010

has a special place reserved for you!!!

We are getting married on this very special day and we can not wait!!

Here is our wedding website

http://www.eWedding.com/sites/CantyArai2010/

Day 268

2010-02-25T22:29:00.000-08:00

AHHHHH! the count down ensues!

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything so I thought today would be a good reason to say hello. :) Geoff and I have been doing soooo well lately and I am soooo very excited to marry my best friend! We have a ways to go still but we are holding on even though it's been tough.

Anyway, we have registered at Crate and Barrel and we have a couple places left on our register list. um lets see.... we have our save the dates and will be mailing them in a matter of days!

We are getting a lot of random details written down so they can EVENTUALLY be completed.

We are just really excited! well I might be REALLY REALLY and he is really excited! ahha

anyway here are some random pictures of life so far

Us on Valentine's Day! I loooooove him! xoxox

Meet our bridal party! Annette, Esther, Kristi, Crysta, Carissa, Kira and Summer Rae

and Rachel and Laura are missing because they are traveling and living far away! ha

I love my girls! xoxo

and here are the kids we are gonna have as our flower girl numba 2 and our ring boy! :) They are Geoff's 2nd cousins! aren't they cute and spunky!?

And here is Geoff registering.... he had SO much fun! :)

289

2010-02-04T23:45:00.000-08:00

we got our save the date magnets today! :)

thats all really.

I haven't posted for a while but I thought today was a good day for a quick hello.

I am getting sooooooo ansy to be married! AH!

At work, there are all these girls that are getting married and its driving me crazy!

I love my job-I do--really! but when the girls come in they get to talk about all their planning and all their exciting stuff but its not really my place to talk about MY wedding... ya know? I obviously do if they ask but in those moments it is THEIR time to shine. THEY get to be in the spot light. AND I REALLY AM HAPPY FOR THEM! but sometimes I just want my wedding to be here! ha I need to visit my dress ASAP! I really miss it! IS that funny to say? oh well. Anyway... its getting late and I have to wake up early to sell more wedding dresses!

REEEEEEALLLLLLLY counting down the days!!!!!!!

hello again. day 313

2010-01-11T17:14:00.001-08:00

Hi again.

Its been a while. SInce Thanksgiving and Christmas and NEw years I guess

I have been a little preoccupied. SOrry. Well.... we all have successfully finished our first week in 2010!

Not a whole lot has happened recently. Don't worry....

but some things have... so here are some.

LEts see...... we got some measurements for the bridesmaids

and I to try on my dress AGAIN! Whoo hoo! :) [no pictures though]

I figured out that my dress is a 2008 model and that made me smile cause that was the year that Geoff and I got engaged! IT was like MEANT to be! :) haha

Dont worry this isn't my dress! MIne is MUCH prettier! hahah

Mom and I also went to OUR first Bridal Expo! and as we walked through the many vendors we realized we have almost EVERYTHING taken care of alreadY! IT was such a great relief to see that we are 98% successful on planning November 20. I got to wear a sticker that said BRIDE! IT made me smile! :)

ummmmm what else!??! ah! I don't know! there is soooooooo much to do!

oh lets see... We counted guests and We have ..... drumrollll please?!?!?! 440 guests! I don't know WHAT we are going to do! THe CHurch holds 400 MAX! and then what....

OH I AM AN OFFICIAL WEDDING CONSULTANT AT LA SOIE! I got hired today! and start work tomorrow!!! yay!!!! ok that is all for now.

xoxo

362, 361, 360

2009-11-26T00:02:00.000-08:00

Wow the days are passing fast! and just as I typed that... the clock struck 12.

Anyway the last couple days have been wonderful. Two of the nights, Geoff came over for surprise visits and spent the night. It was so sweet to have him just "drop by" from Pasadena. We snuggled til we fell asleep and after I drifted off to never never land he kissed me goodnight and tucked me into rachel's bed. Then in the morning, he was already awake and I woke up to him blowing morning kisses. It is a strange feeling to have him spend the night at my house and wake up and have him here. Night time and morning times are the moments when I have messy hair and no make up. Ha the one thing that is consistent is that my pjs match. :)

anyway when Geoff was here my "bed routine" didn't bother him. He said multiple times, "you are so pretty" and I was thinking "WHAT ???!" hahaa I tried to snuggle my face in his arms so he wouldn't have to look at me in all my sleepyness, but ironically he wanted to. Geez. Married life is only 360 days away and Geoff and I will have our own house and he will be used to my sleepy routine. haha Thats so strange. It hasn't quite hit me yet....

Lets see what else? Well it is officially Thanksgiving right now and I am going to the Arai house for dinner. I am a little sad because I LOVE the Canty THanksgiving dinner, but I am looking forward to being with "family" in one way or another. Anyway, that is all for now.

More to come later. Until day 359

363

2009-11-22T22:52:00.001-08:00

Today was a strange day.... I tossed and turned all night because I was having dreams that my strong and handsome fiance was rescuing me in his ambulance.As I woke up, I realized my chest was in intense pain. My heart was feeling tight and I was in alot of pain. Luckily, my babysitting gig got canceled at the last moment so I was able to rest. I wasn't sure what was really wrong so I sat and cuddled til the afternoon. Geoff was supposed to work a 24 hour shift today, but he was really worried about me and took off the afternoon and came to my rescue. He checked on me and took my pulse like 30 times (to see if my heart beat was irregular) and basically when he realized I wasn't going to die... he cuddled with me. We played a little bride and groom trivia and that was that. We finally decided that we should get out of the house and work on our OWN phone plan... so we hoped in his car and headed to AT&T. Our goal was to leave our parents' networks and create a FAMILY PLAN with just Geoff and I. cute huh? yes! well the process was starting to go well until the CUSTOMER SERVICE lady messed EVERYTHING up! It was so confusing but I was able to see Geoff fight for us and for the right thing to be done. I mean he was fighting for our future with a silly phone plan. I don;t know how to explain the proud feelings I felt as I listened to him explain his side to the customer service lady. There were so many times when tears were literally at the corners of my eyes because I was so proud and excited to be marrying such a strong and dynamic man. He proved that NO ONE will ever mess with us and it just made me feel secure! Anyway all that to say... Geoff and I are on the same phone plan and it is exciting to make baby steps to becoming of one flesh! eeeK! anyway. that is all for today's countdown post. Right now he is sleeping in my bed, and I am curled up in Rachel's bed... We both leave at 730 am for school tomorrow but there is something different about today. I feel just overwhelmed. I don't know.

nighty night.

p.s I got an iphone! yay!

364

2009-11-21T22:35:00.000-08:00

It is officially LESS than ONE YEAR until our wedding!!! YAY!!!!

I am going to try to write a little blog EVERY DAY and share my ALL of our wedding plans!

Yesterday was day 365 and Geoff and I went out to a VERY fancy restaurant called Flemings in El Segundo. It was so yummy! We both got all dressed up and enjoyed a very nice feast! There was lots of kissing, tears, and love! We had a wonderful time and I am excited for this upcoming year filled with planning and excitement! Today, Mom, dad and I were looking at wedding invitations! There are so many out there and they are so pretty! Right now, we are looking at invitations that match our napkins, with gold highlights. They are so pretty! We shall see. We ordered a sample so.... until then I'll be crossing my fingers.

Here are some pictures of our famous 365 night.

John and Corinna Charlton (our wonderful Westmont friends) sent us beautiful bride and groom bears! A tear came to my eye when I saw them! thank you so much J&C!!!!

bragging rights

2009-11-16T22:36:00.000-08:00

I told Geoff I wouldn't post this on the facebook so I am posting it here.

Being the fiance, I obviously have bragging rights so this is my only virtual opportunity :)

I am so proud of him and all the hard work he has gone through to get to this point.

yay for EMTs. and yay for Geoffrey!

november 14

2009-11-14T18:47:00.001-08:00

i think im jealous.

2009-11-08T20:36:00.000-08:00

look at how beautiful they are.

geesh. this is courtney and we were friends when we were very small at our first church called Calvary Lomita. One day out of the blue, her and her family just left. :( I was sad. I have missed her for a long time, and recently she became my friend on the facebook. I was so so happY!

now she is 25 and she's getting married in january 2010. I guess I am a little sad that we missed out on so much of our life together. oh geesh. I just hate when friends go their own way... and disappear. boo.

don't blink

2009-11-03T00:18:00.001-08:00

or moments like these will be missed...

treasure life at its fullest.

to post or not to post

2009-10-20T19:45:00.001-07:00

I don't have much to say... but a friend of mine said postings should be within 7 days of each other. so... here is my post.... a randomness of what my mind is thinking

it seems as though this last month is taking FOREVER to pass. I am getting ansy for november!

at the end of this month (the 30th) Geoff and I are taking our Save the date pictures. thats exciting. :) that will be fun hopefully. then the 31st we are spending the day/evening in pasadena. maybe a little pumpkin ravioli.... a little pumpkin carving and then snuggling up to a movie.

we shall see... nothing too much here. still waiting for life to get here.

ansy ansy

2009-10-13T19:44:00.001-07:00

out of the house

for a minute or two

and nothing was accomplished.

do not give up.

"writing a paper"

for an hour or two

and nothing was accomplished.

do not give up.

applied on line

for ten thousand jobs or two

and nothing was accomplished

do not give up.

getting ansy

engaged for almost a year-altogether two

and nothing was accomplished

do not give up.

it would have been so so easy.

it could be so so easy

but I WILL NOT GIVE UP.

the end

2009-10-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last wedding of 2009-- whew! (My best friend Esther's baby sister) It has been a long year of weddings and I have enjoyed them all! Today, unfortunately, I am sick and burnt out! I guess 11 weddings in one year does that to yoU!

(they really wanted to do a # 11 photo-- I have been to 11 this year but it was the official 8th wedding of the year because the other 3 were ve

ry last minute)

anyway... there is a month and 8 days until I can begin counting down a year til my wedding. a little scary i think! it is kinda strange to be en

gaged for TWO years! There have been so many ups and downs with us this year I am just wanting engaged life to be over! but I guess this next year will be very exciting and busy! ooooh my mom and I fi

nally FOUND the perfect cranberry color I have been looking for the bridesmaid dresses. They are at the same place I found my wedding dress and I am sooo excited! We are going to wait until Rachel comes home in December so we can finally set it in stone. The tie that Geoff is wearing and the dress that I am wearing are alm

ost the exact color that we found! yay! anyway.... 404 days left!

xoxo

oh yeah.... mom bought me these fall flowers as an example of what we might use in our fall bouquets! It is called a flame tip callelilly.

October 7, 2009

2009-10-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a little sick.

sniffle nose.

lots of tissue.

uuughhh.

that is all I guess.

I'm just tired.

Fall Blessings....

2009-09-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

To help celebrate the first day of Autumn, my all time favorite season, I drove up to Santa Barbara to see some dear friends and to visit a place that has a part of my heart.

Lately, I have been feeling "down" and needed some fresh air to help clear my head.

The new scenery was of course wonderful and nice. I was able to pray the entire drive and ask the Lord for his blessing and protection. It was a nice day, with an icecream trip at the pier and a wonderful pizza dinner with a few friends. After dinner, we had a tasty desert with icecream and rich chocolate chip cookies. A perfect treat to celebrate fall's new blessings. Today, Wednesday, I went to chapel at Westmont and Ben Patterson talked about riding the rollercoasters of life and

how important it is to sit snug with Jesus. I was touched by his message and his sweet words. I realized that the reasons I was feeling down were because I was going through a WILD rollercoaster and although, I was sitting in the same boat as Jesus, I was far away from him. I need to be sitting right next to him, as Ben said, "becoming one flesh" with Him. As soon as I put my complete, absolute trust in the Lord, then I will be able to see the rollercoaster from a different perspective. I needed to hear that from the Lord this morning and he knew I would be listening. A couple weeks ago, our Pastor, spoke about our chikara which is a Japanese word meaning strength and power. When we are weak, God reveals his strength and power. When we are weak, we are made strong in the Lord. Pastor Gary went on to say that when we pray, "Lord, I can not get through ________ ( you fill in the blank) without your help" we become powerful! because we are first admitting our weakness! and that is when the Lord steps in! So ... with that message in mind, I prayed and prayed... LORD help me with this rollercoaster. I CAN NOT GET THROUGH IT WITHOUT YOU!

and on another note, I had been praying for a job.... praying that God w

ould open the doors for a job that I can flourish in and have his guidance in.... and well I came back from the inspiring chapel ordeal and checked my gmail account and in my inbox was an email from a lady with a wedding company called premiere productions and she has an interview available for me THIS friday. At this job, I would be learning the business of becoming a wedding coordinator and even earning a big girl salary while learning the program!!!! I am so excited!!!! I don't know where this path will lead me but I know if God is in control I can handle ANYTHING!!!!!!

sooo.... keep me in your prayers.... for the LORD's will to be done in every situation, circumstance, job opening and rollercoaster ride that I will be embarking on! whooo hoo!

on another note.... I am excited to count down one year to my wedding. I just keep praying that the Lord will prepare my heart and Geoffrey's. I know the Lord is good and I know that this rollercoaster ride will be interesting. soooo keep me close to you Lord! AMEN!

September

2009-09-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

First of all, I can't believe we are more than half way through September already! Geez!

Secondly, I wanted to say that September has a lot of sentimental value for me and I thought it was important for me to share with everyone why....

My parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on September 15th and my grandparents would have celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary today!

As a child, I always wanted to get married in September, (P.s I am wearing my mom's wedding dress in this picture.... I think I was 9years old?)

and I even wanted to get married in 2004..... I know a little over anxious..... but here is why.

My grandma was born in 1935 and my mom born in 1955 then I was born in 1985..... 20 years between my mom and grandma and thirty between my mom and I.

So.... it continues.... my Grandparents got married in 1954 and my parents in 1984.... so naturally, I either wanted to get married in 2004 or 2014 and since I realized that 2014 would be tooooooo far away, I thought 2004 would be just fine! ha That would have put me married right after high school and since my high school crush didn't really work out the way I wanted it to... I knew my 2004 dream was out the window.

Even though, I didn't get married in 2004, I'm not getting married in 2014, and my wedding isn't in September, I still love this month. It will always be special to me and maybe I can start a November tradition with my daughter. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to dedicate a blog to my grandparents and the day that would

have been their 55th wedding anniversary! I love you grandma and miss you very much!

This picture is so special to me!! I actually almost cried when I saw it! My grandma gave my papa this watch as his wedding day present and he has treasured it for 55 years! He always talks so highly of this watch! So sweet! My grandpa is really a wonderful man! He was so in love with my grandma! Gosh how adorable!

And this last picture just melts my heart! They look so happy to start their lives together!

I am so blessed to have them as my grandparents. They leave a wonderful legacy for me to follow.

10:18pm

2009-09-14T22:18:00.001-07:00

and I am exhausted.

my hair is a mess.

and my eyes are red.

I haven't done much today, but I am tired.

Today, I did one errand. Today, I walked outside one time. Today, I picked up my Grandma's heart shaped necklace (that I will wear on my wedding day) and I realized that life happens very fast and it can swarm in chaos all around me.

After coming to this, kill my beautiful monday conclusion, I realized that I am not strong enough to deal with it at all.... unless I have Jesus, and I know it sounds so cheesy, but without his help I can not do anything. Dwelling on this took a lot out of me, and I have been emotionally, physically, and spiritually tired all day. sad - because I should have been uplifted at God's mighty grace, but I was not. I know the truth... and I know that he is so much greater than I... but still I am drained. I need to trust and I guess... I needed a day to soak it in.

goodnight.

a forever dream

2009-08-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

one day... one day I will have a horse.

Im sure of it.

It has been an aching dream of mine for a long time now.

one day... one day.

Some priceless summer moments

2009-08-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

This summer the Canty clan went to a wedding ... (surprise surprise) in Oregon for a very close family friend. It was a magical wedding and the professional photos just surfaced and I wanted to share some of them with you....

Here comes the groom... We have known Tyler since we were all little... He is like our little brother....

This is his new bride watching from afar ...

My absolute favorite moment about weddings is watching the groom as his bride walks down the aisle. I know I am going to cry when I see Geoff as I walk down the aisle!

This wedding was so picture perfect.

The couple, Mr and Mrs. Anderson had a foot washing ceremony. I have never seen this before during a wedding and I was absolutely touched by this servitude act.

um... adorable!

The Anderson Family... both pairs of MR and MRS

THe handsome groomsmen... my brother Josh is on the far right.

Josh and Tyler have grown up togetherThe photographer LOVED the jumping shots! Each boy has such a priceless face

It was an absolute pleasure to be there for Tyler and Sarah on their special day!

We are a truly blessed family.

May God's absolute blessing be extended to you both throughout your lives! We love yoU!

every little girls dream

2009-08-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

There are many things that I dreamed of when I was a little girl and one of the many dreams I shared with many others is getting married!!! I have always dreamed of my wedding day, and for 22 years of my life I did not know who the man of my life would be; That is until I met Geoffrey Arai. Even at the beginning of our relationship I did not know he was the one I was going to marry....I realized it much later in our relationship and then he proposed on November 19th 2008 and we will be married on November 20, 2010!!! In the mean time I have become obsessed with weddings... seriously. For all of my life, I have always attended weddings... some of the time I have been included in the big day as maybe a flower girl or a bridesmaid. I enjoy sharing the happiness of their day and do all I can to help.

Anyway.... I have come to a life "ah ha moment" I have decided I want to become a wedding coordinator! I want to actually help couples everywhere put their special moments into action. I want to seek out couples and share their special day with them. I also want to put all of my friends/family's wedding photos together ... it might inspire me! haha anyway... this was a morning/afternoon realization that I simply had to share. I know there is more to the wedding day.... to concentrate on the MARRIAGE and make it last a life time... so I hope to always incorporate that in my new search. so wish me all the luck you have.

the minute game

2009-05-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Making... a paper?
Watching... the two gentlemen in front of me at starbucks chit chatting like old men. so cute!
Reading... "talking from 9 to 5" by Deborah Tannen
Listening... Rascal Flatts
Whatever-ing... blogging... facebooking...sniffling....and typing a paper!!!

bittersweet

2009-05-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

I just found out that our dear friends Christina and Eric will be having a little baby boy around October 2nd. I am so excited for them and the new life they will be bringing to this earth. I am very sad though... my heart aches because we are so so far apart! They live in the state of Washington and I really miss them!!! Luckily, I can follow Christina on her blogs... but still this news is bittersweet because I can not hug her big pregnant belly. I have never seen her pregnant with either Mylie or new baby boy. Maybe this summer, I will make the commute just to see them. Here is a picture of the precious little baby growing inside.

I am already praying for him and I don't even know his name.

don't mess...

2009-05-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

with those Italian women... here is a funny story that was sent to me....

For several years, a man was having an affair with an Italian woman.

One night, she confided in him that she was pregnant.

Not wanting to ruin his reputation or his marriage, he paid her a
large sum of money if she would go to Italy to secretly have the
child.

If she stayed in Italy to raise the child, he would also provide child
support until the child turned 18.
She agreed, but asked how he would know when the baby was born.

To keep it discreet, he told her to simply mail him a post card, and
write 'Spaghetti' on the back.
He would then arrange for the child support payments to begin.

One day, about 9 months later, he came home to his confused wife..
'Honey,' she said, 'You have received a very strange postcard today.'
Oh, just give it to me and I'll explain it later,' he said.

The wife obeyed and watched as her husband read the card, turned
white, and fainted.
On the card was written:
Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti..

Three with meatballs, two without.

Send extra sauce.'For several years, a man was having an affair with an Italian woman.

One night, she confided in him that she was pregnant.

Not wanting to ruin his reputation or his marriage, he paid her a
large sum of money if she would go to Italy to secretly have the
child.

If she stayed in Italy to raise the child, he would also provide child
support until the child turned 18.
She agreed, but asked how he would know when the baby was born.

To keep it discreet, he told her to simply mail him a post card, and
write 'Spaghetti' on the back.
He would then arrange for the child support payments to begin.

One day, about 9 months later, he came home to his confused wife..
'Honey,' she said, 'You have received a very strange postcard today.'
Oh, just give it to me and I'll explain it later,' he said.

The wife obeyed and watched as her husband read the card, turned
white, and fainted.
On the card was written:
Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti..

Three with meatballs, two without.

Send extra sauce."

GOD is good....ALL the Time!!!

2009-05-24T21:07:00.001-07:00

Seriously. AWESOME!!!

This weekend has been more than I ever expected it to be and I owe it all to my HEAVENLY FATHER.

FAILURE

2009-05-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

Failure is a gross word. We hate it.

Recently, our pastor spoke on the Dark Knight of Failure.

In his sermon, he told us many examples of what failure is NOT so that we can better understand what failure is.

There are a couple important points that resonated with me particularly.

I was blessed to go to this church service with Geoffrey and I will write more about that later.

In Pastor Gary's first point, he stated, "Failure is NOT avoidable"

I really really really resonated with this point.

WE ARE ALL SINNERS!!! WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES!

When I was at Westmont, I thought I couldn't fail... I thought that I was on top of the world! Ironically, in my first efforts to attend Westmont in 2005, I was rejected and had to go to community college for another year so that I could apply in 2006. I should have expected life to not go my way, but it seems that I forgot that lesson and I was convinced I was untouchable! Boy was I wrong! I blew it big time. I thought that if I asked for help or advice that I would be failing. I thought I could do it all alone. Instead, I did not ask, I did not seek advice and I failed all by myself. I had to leave Westmont. I could not avoid it at all.

I had to accept my defeat and come home.

His next point, "Failure is NOT the enemy"

Sometimes, we have to learn this lesson more than once, twice or three times.

When the three kids were younger, my parents bought us bikes so we could learn and be active little kids. Apparently this is how the story goes, my grandfather, my father and my uncle, all tried to help us learn to ride our bikes but not one of the Canty kids learned how to ride.

We went through our younger years not knowing how to ride. :(

When I became 21 a friend of mine convinced me that I should buy myself a bike to celebrate my monumental birthday. PROBLEM!!! I still didn't know how to ride! SInce she was a good friend, she was committed to helping me learn to ride. Time and time again, I fell off my pretty yellow bike. I was so embarrassed. It is kinda cute when a little kid falls off but when a 21 year old falls.... people look twice. By me failing, I finally learned what I needed to do to get situated on that bike. By falling, I was able to teach myself to ride a bike! And now I can say I am so glad that I was not afraid of failing so I could continue to try.

The other points Pastor Gary mentioned are

"Failure is NOT irreversable and Failure is NOT final"

Pastor Gary's last point, was from John Maxwell, "Failure is the Price we pay for Success"

When we fail, we succeed. It sounds a little strange and annoying. Why can't we just succeed? Why can't we just skip the painful part? When we fail, we are able to gain strength and we have compassion for others who are failing. We are able to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and know that he still has our best interests at heart and cares for us in every way.

From this example, I have to talk about Geoffrey. Today, he took test number three to become an EMT, and today he passed. After 6 months of classes and test taking, he passed with an 85%!!! I guess I should start by saying, the first time he took the test, he missed the cut off by 3 points, the second time, he missed by 1 point!!!! He was sooo ready to fail once more.

He took some online quizzes and never got more than a 78% and he needed an 80% to pass.

God took his two failures to teach him a BIG lesson! When Geoffrey called me this morning, I told him that he needs to pray that God's will is done in his life. I told Geoff that he needs to pray as he reads EVERY question. During his exam, he did pray and he realized that whatever happens the LORD is in control. By Geoff failing, he learned that his success is in the LORD and the LORD's awesome and amazing will. The Lord did more than help Geoff pass his EMT test, he helped Geoff learn that the Lord is in control.

Take this with you as you go through your day... and remember this as you fail.

Psalm 37:23 states, "If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand"

Another verse, James 5: 11 reminds us that even in failure, the Lord is full of love, "As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. YOu have heard Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

AAAhhhhhh

2009-05-12T19:02:00.001-07:00

Today is dragggggggging on. It has been awful. THis is the only place I want to be...

well maybe this or hanging out with Geoff.... and one day... this with Geoff?! haha

and the clock struck

2009-05-06T00:23:00.000-07:00

and my midterm was submitted without me completing the timed test.

and my back was killing me.

and i snapped at geoffrey.

.... today was not my day.

BUT THEN I REMEMBERED THAT even this day IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE and I prayed and apologized for acting like I did... and told the Lord I was sorry.... and calmed down

AND THEN the clock struck again....

and my teacher restarted the grading clock so I could restart my midterm.

and my pain subsided

and geoffrey said the sweetest things to remind me that all will be okay...

and then Laura called to tell me she was thinking of me

.... then today turned around.

Lately, I have been lying to myself and not being honest about what has been bothering me.

Today I was honest to myself and to Jesus and he helped me in my time of need. Boy, did I need it today! He knew and he understood and HE ALONE IS HELPING CARRY ME THROUGH!!!

I would like to thank Geoffrey and Laura and Dave Barnes for being used by Jesus to help me smile again.

WHen??

2009-05-05T15:56:00.001-07:00

When is the moment that you realize you have grown up?

When is the moment that you realize all has changed?

As I sit at school today, I realized I am a 23 year young woman, engaged, and almost done with college.... where will life take me next? I literally blinked and my life flew by. I never really took advantage of the fact that I was growing up. I was hesitant of change all my life and never embraced the change as it happened...

I prepared for it... and it passed.... I never anticipated growing up and moving on.

It just happened.

I just have to add...

2009-04-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

this picture makes all the stresses of today better. I will have to tell you the story sometime. We've had a great 2 years filled with moments like this. so so fuN!

I love him! (sigh)

so much emotion

2009-04-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

well today has been filled with emotion. gosh.

today is my grandma's birthday. she would have been 74. I kept thinking of buying a box of See's candy because that is something she always enjoyed on her special days.. and well random times through out the week. I really miss her today. It is really strange that she is gone because sometimes I simply think she is in Arizona. She used to go there ALOT and spend weeks there with my papa and queenie. Since my papa is always gone, I just assume they are together and will be home soon. Its so strange that she is not here for her birthday this year!!

Today is also Geoff and I's two year anniversary. and it has been 5 months since we've been engaged. Crazy! I remember two years ago when we were sitting in my car, and he was proposing all the reasons why I should be his girlfriend. He was so cute and so excited. It was the wee hours of the morning and we had been up all night studying and talking as Westmont was drawing to a close. I was eager to be his girlfriend because all the back and forth stuff was driving me crazy!!! I told him... as your first boyfriend duty, make sure I call my grandma on her birthday! He did remind me ... so sweet. He thought that I was going to tell her about our new relationship status.... but I did not. I dont think that was the kind of present that was on my grandma's wish list.

Ahhhh anyway... today has been soo crazy. Soooo many assignments due and sooo many crazy partners are trying to get the best of me. I haven't even seen Geoff today. :( He had a chance to take his EMT pretest. So he missed our lunch and I am at school all night doing a group mid term. so lame! and... well there are other things bothering me but GOD is in control of those. He is helping me....cause otherwise I would probably be crying as I write this. Uuuugh!!!

Its just been one of those days. But I am so glad that I had this moment to breathe and think of people that I love. (sigh of relief)

Well the moment is over... on to the next task. Group mid-term. you know how fun those can be?! well .... the positive light is that I am filing my Graduation intent on Tuesday and I am almost done with CSULA group projects and dealing with stressful people.

(BIG SIGH OF RELIEF!)

anyway... I guess thats all.

pre-pre-pre wedding jitters?

2009-04-29T20:50:00.001-07:00

i just had a small panic attack for my wedding.... what colors? will they go well? will our reception place look GREAT!??!? what will my wedding dress look like? will i like my hair? aahhhH!!! i think im thinking way too hard. i just saw a friend's wedding pictures and i see beautiful weddings every weekend... but what if mine doesn't measure up!?!! geesh.

monkey see... monkey do

2009-04-29T17:34:00.001-07:00

I guess It's just one of those days.

theFAMOUSweekend.

2009-04-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

well this weekend was geoffrey's 23rd birthday and we had a famous time. it was so wonderful. i loved spending every moment with my guy. we went to party city and yes i made him try these glasses on but we had a great time. he was so happy. it was very nice to see him all smiles.

this is probably my favorite picture of us right now. i had such a great time celebrating geoff's birthday. we are pretty gosh darn cute. :)

then on saturday, the 18th geoff and i were hanging out again.. and we decided to change up his room so we went to ikea... and we saw daniel fairday... you know the way sneaky scientist from LOST! yeah!!! i had to work up my gut to talk to him and get a picture but I finally did!! he is such a nice guy!!! then daniel turns to me and says well... my friend here is a famous editor. so i took a picture with him too!!! ha they were both so welcoming of the crazy fan! it was really sweet!!

then on sunday, rachel invited us to a benefit for autism and it was hosted by the characters from HEROs and yeah guess who we saw?!?!? HIRO!!! The main guy!!! oh gosh it was soo cool. I guess I should start watching the show now huh?

oh yeah and the band that was playing was called "Band from TV" and Mike Delfino from DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES was playing the guitar!! we were so close to him. he is soo sexY!!!

overall... it was a wonderful weekend. i got to spend it with my sexy fiance and my cute siblings. oh yeah and famous people!!! haha it was fun. very exciting.

rollercoaster ride

2009-04-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

today was ridiculous.

quite the rollercoaster ride with highs and lows.

ahhhh

but right now at this moment i hear beautiful birds chirpping and singing to Jesus and well that is the best way to live in this moment right here right now.

peaceful.....

and in T-minus 30 minutes... ill be on that rollercoaster again

Love and Friendship

2009-04-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today I went with Grandma Reen to her friend Bib Sailor.

The two 81 year olds smiled and hugged despite their aching bodies.

The two of them truly understand the words love and friendship.

As I watched them interact, I thought of the relationships I have lost over the years and those that I have maintained, and that is when I realized that in all relationships LIFE HAPPENS.

People die, people get sick, people get busy, but that is when you push past it all and cling on to what matters. Your friendship and your love. The two ladies have had many struggles, husbands died ,they both have fought cancer, they wake up with pain, they have heartaches, and continue to have loss after loss but someway-somehow they come together and are friends. There is someone in the world that understands them. It doesn't matter what has happened in their lives because they have someone to literally hold onto. I want that. That amazing friendship that stands through the stress of this life, and all the difficulties and pushes through to have a TRUE BLUE love that lasts for 45 years plus!!!

happy 4th birthday summer rae

2009-03-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

Summer was born four years ago!!! I can not believe she has grown up so fast!!!

I spent so much time with her when she was a little little baby. Wow its all gone by so fast!!!

happy birthday to my little princess!!!

spring break

2009-03-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

is wonderful.

so far... i haven't done much...

so far....i haven't climbed a mountain or scaled a tree

so far... i haven't swung on swings or visited the beach

but as of right now i am content.

no make up for today.

curly hair.

comfy t-shirt

and a nice cup of joe.

life is good.

life is great.

AND MY BEST BUDDY IS GETTING MARRIED THIS WEEKEND!!!!

aaaaahhhhh it is final time...

2009-03-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

the end of the quarter.... and i could very easily be stressed.

Geoff and I were in a Psychology of Emotion class and we learned all about different emotions and the evolutionary responses to them etc.... and over the whole entire class the last lecture was the one that touched me most... we learned that there is a COGNITIVE component to stress we must think of these three things... 1. to cope by being emotion focused versus problem focused 2. appraisal of the situation--is the stress a threat or a challenge; will the stress damage me or help me become better? and 3. personal control of the situation knowing how you can change the situation to become something better for you...

that was it.

that was all we learned.

but something was missing...

um....

WE CAN GIVE IT TO JESUS!!! WE CAN CALL ON OUR HEAVENLY FATHER TO HELP US!!

That was my 4th item to the cognitive appraisal of stressful situations.

I just finished my 2nd final. I have a small meeting tonight to discuss my other 2 finals tomorrow... I have alot to finish tonight... I have a paper to write... uuuuugh i have alot to do.... sooo i came out to CSULA's court yard to get a head start...and this song played in my itunes...

When I call on Jesus"

by Nicole C. Mullen

"I am so very ordinary

Nothing special

On my own

oh I have never walked on water

and I have never calmed the storm

Sometimes I'm hiding away from the madness around me

like a child whose afraid of the dark

BUT..... (here is the cognitive appraisal I was talking about)

WHEN I CALL ON JESUS

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE

I CAN MOUNT ON WINGS LIKE EAGLES AND SOAR

WHEN I CALL ON JESUS

MOUNTAINS ARE GONNA FALL

CAUSE HE'LL MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH TO CATCH ME WHEN I FALL

weary brothers

broken daughters

you're not alone

if you're tired and scared of the madness around you

if you can't find the strength to carry on...

CALL HIM IN THE MORNING IN THE AFTERNOON TIME

LATE IN THE EVENING HE'LL BE THERE

WHEN YOUR HEART IS BROKEN

WHEN YOU FEEL DISCOURAGED

YOU CAN JUST REMEMBER THAT HE'S THERE

HE'LL BE THERE!!

WHEN I CALL ON JESUS ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE

I CAN MOUNT ON WINGS LIKE EAGLES AND SOAR

WHEN I CALL ON JESUS MOUNTAINS ARE GONNA FALL"

it goes on to sing..... the song... but oh my gosh!!!

can you believe that?

He is right here next to me to help me along the way.

when i feel the wind breeze by it is my best friend,

my heavenly father saying I LOVE YOU! I AM HERE FOR YOU!!!

I love that I can call on him whenever I want to.

ahhhhh!!!! I know that I CAN get through these next couple days.

I KNOW I CAN!! CAUSE I KNOW I HAVE HELP!!!!!

CAUSE ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!!!

ALL THINGS!!!

THROUGH JESUS

AND HE IS GOING TO BE RIGHT BY MY SIDE

WHENEVER I CALL....

MORNING, AFTERNOON, NIGHT

FINAL OR NOT!!!!!

smiling babies...

2009-03-06T22:26:00.000-08:00

here are a couple babies that have recently made me smile

The first little baby is Andrew Silguero born on February 5, 2009

For all those who don't know... Andrew is kinda like my new nephew...this new mommie is esther's little sister (and esther is my best buddy) and i feel that we ALL are as close as sisters (esther, tracy, rachel and i) and well... andrew is just so precious I think I want to claim him!)

This is a picture of Andrew and his mommy on his first day at home.

This is baby Andrew on his one month birthday March 5. He has already grown up so much!!!

This next baby is Noah James Long.

He was born on July 26, 2009.

His mommy and daddy went to high school with Rachel and are our family friends.

Whenever I took out my camera he would stop what he was doing and make this face...

Sometimes he would squint because he knew what the flash would do.

It was so fun and exciting to watch him interact with us.

He even warmed up to Geoff by reaching out for Geoff to hold him.

I didn't want to make Geoff feel like I was rushing him or anything so I decided not to take a picture of them together.

Believe me though... it was the most precious thing I have ever seen!!

Anyway... I love that the Canty house is always filled with people and babies... Awww it just brings a smile to my face!!!

to keep up...

2009-03-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while and I am currently working on a dedication post that is taking me longer than I would have liked.... but I want to keep my weekly quota up.... so here is a little something that should make all bloggers out there smile.

this is a picture from my first year at Westmont college in Santa Barbara. The theme was "rock star cruise" and John Charlton and Geoff Arai took it very seriously!

I love this picture and I love these guys!!!

Can we get a shout out for these brave men?

Thanks Shakespeare

2009-02-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

"We wear the mask that gives and lies

hides our cheeks and shades our eyes

this debt we pay to human guile

with torn and bleeding hearts we smile."

I am so blessed.

2009-02-17T21:08:00.000-08:00

...to have such wonderful friends-- especially Corinna Michelle...

Thank you Corinna for being my support when we are so far away and thank you for sending me smiles and laughter.

You bring instant joy to me. Thank you.

I dont wanna grow up....

2009-02-02T23:09:00.000-08:00

awww i found this today... its a hat that says "i dont want to grow up" and today is one of those days where I do not want to grow up!!! This hat has alot of memories....and finding it today made me wish for those days that passed. :*(

2009-01-31T12:33:00.000-08:00

I have finally figured it out... I am seriously just like Katherine Heigl!!! Well in the movie 27 dresses anyway... I think I remember the one of the first weddings I went to... that was when I fell in LOVE with weddings. Rachel and I used to always collect the confetti at the weddings and I would come home and save it. It was my most sacred thing. And at the weddings, I only wanted to hug the bride and feel her dress. It was so special to me when the bride and groom would come over to our table. I was so excited... I think sometimes I even would show the bride all the confetti I gathered. haha Anyway... I have always loved weddings and now that I am engaged as well ... I just can not wait until I get the chance to go to all the tables and greet all my little cousins... It will be like a full circle. I haven't been in as many weddings... I think I've been in seven or something. And this year, I have the honor to be in two weddings. Esther Elizabeth Miranda who is marrying my senior prom date Todd Richard Ferguson on March 28, 2009. And then on July 24th Kristi Gohn is marrying David Sampson in Long Beach and I get to be in that one too!!! I have known Kristi since I was in middle school and in high school! It is such an honor to be in these weddings!!! All together, there will be at least seven weddings this year... there might be one more in December. We shall see....

Anyway..... I love that there is a movie out there that I can relate to. :)

The only thing that isn't the same is the snotty sister Katherine has....My sister is absolutely nothing like her. :)

TLC

2009-01-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

I am obsessed with "TLC's what not to wear" and "John and Kate plus eight"

I can't help it. I think this is how Rachel and I detox from our crazy lives. haha

It's really sad when they end. but thats when life begins....

wow. This all sounds way pathetic.....

sto danneggiando...sorriso comunque

2009-01-20T15:22:00.000-08:00

happy new year everyone!!!

I started my

2009 at

the rose parade in pasadena ca. it was a wonderful reminder of my ever present new year's

resolution.... TO GO HORSE RIDING!!!! its has always been a desire of mine... one day i will finally be able to do it!!!

Then January 3rd called for a Napa Wedding for John Charlton and Corinna White.

This is a picture of Corinna as simply an engaged woman.

Just as Corinna walked down the

aisle, she smiled right

at me. It made my whole

day....and I shed a little tear.

exchanging vows.....

Now pronounced as a married couple!!!!

I was stalking Corinna and John as they were taking their professional wedding photos. sorry guys! i just had to get this photo!!!!! im so glad you made me bring

my fur!!! i love you Corinna!!!

This was the first wedding of seven (yes it has increased by one) in 2009!!!!! My goal is to take a picture with every couple and the number wedding it will be. im kinda silly that way. hopefully, it works.

there will be more updates during class.... time to run

oh corinna....

2009-01-15T19:11:00.000-08:00

As my dear friend Corinna Charlton stated.... blogging is like a full time job and I have been slacking on my job responsibility.
I have declared a mid-January new year's resolution.... I will be a better blogger!
2009 will be a very busy year for me and I am anxiously waiting in anticipation!
I do not want this year to pass me by without giving each moment its time in the sun!
I make a pledge to blog more often because I want to share my world with you!

remembering

2008-12-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

Today I was looking at pictures of grandma bee and I started crying. I really miss her right now. Christmas eve was her day. It was her time to shower us in gifts and cook us a special dinner. it was her time to be with us. this year is going to be so hard because she isn't here.

THe first picture was from josh's high school graduation in 2005. Grandma was so excited that our outfits matched! She made sure we got a picture together!!!

The second picture was of us last year... then we had no idea how sick she really was.

back in the day

2008-12-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

it was not common to see us together
we were always at the mall or at pioneers together
but now it is a rare occurrence
now we rarely see one another
but today we are going to breakfast and I could not be more happy!
<3 yay for our reunion

wait this might help...

2008-12-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

little things like this make me smile

2008-12-14T20:14:00.001-08:00

this is for john charlton.

and for corinna because she will see it.

<3>

few and far

2008-12-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

i've realized that good friends are few and far between.

this is an ode to all of them. i appreciate and love you.

it wouldn't be Christmas without you

2008-12-07T20:39:00.001-08:00

well there is a song that says "it wouldn't be Christmas without you" and it always makes me so sad whenever it plays because I think of people in my life who are so important to me and I think of what Christmas would be without them and I just feel so sad inside!!!!! But today as we were hanging ornaments on our tree and that song was playing I felt sad... but then I remembered how it wouldn't be CHRISTmas without CHRIST!!! what would this holiday be like without JESUS? gosh... there wouldn't be anything to celebrate. I know that whatever happens in life... friends come and go.... relationships sadly fade away... family passes on to better places... but the one one thing that will always stay in my life is CHRIST!! I BELIEVE in my Saviour and I BELIEVE that JESUS is coming again and I am a blessed creature to live on this earth and live in his creation. I was feeling sad earlier today.... i was missing my grandma bee and feeling a little overwhelmed by how fast this year has gone by. I was just .... sigh..... a little sad. and i began thinking of how much I have been blessed with. I began thinking of all the wonderful blessings God has done in my life and I realized that with Christ I can get through the holidays..... and everyday.

This is my favorite ornament this year. We have always had it but this year it makes me smile more than it ever has. I hope one day Geoff and I can be like this. :) what a wonderful thing to look forward to. I hope that we are this blessed as we age.
Here is our wonderful tree. Mom and Dad added a little after I took the picture, but still this is mostly the finished product.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! I love you all.

its finally time!!!!

2008-11-27T21:37:00.000-08:00

I CAN FINALLY ANNOUNCE THAT GEOFF AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!

here is how it all went down on November 19th 2008

Geoff came over for his normal wednesday night dinner and we matched!! Isnt that so cute! we didn't even plan it!

and he brought me flowers!

Geoff and Rachel were in cahoots for a long time and they had all these details worked out! I had no idea really and thought that we were just getting all dressed up for dinner! We went down to the manhattan beach pier for dinner and I was sooo excited to see the wonderful sunset that I was not paying attention to geoff's nonverbal cues! He was so adorable and promised me wonderful things that made my heart go flutter. As we were walking Geoff said I want to give you this ring so we can have our first dinner as an engaged couple!!! It was so precious!!! I didn't want to look at the ring and I was freaking out! I was sooo caught off guard! I was soo excited!!! I have to say that this whole week has been rather crazy because we wanted our family to know before our friends. sorry guys. Geoff and I have had this crazy week of keeping our little "secret" and we were able to enjoy each other. It has been quite a whirl wind but we are so excited and I can't wait to keep updating with more information!!!

its beginning to look alot like....

2008-11-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

the holidays and i'm sooo excited!!!!!!!!!

I lift my eyes up to the hills.....

2008-11-14T21:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.westmont.edu/teafire/

Here is Westmont's home page with alot more information.

I am so overwhelmed by the sadness that has happened to my friends and family.

But I AM ALSO OVERWHELMED WITH GOD'S WONDERFUL GRACIOUSNESS!!!

Here is my favorite song and I hope it ministers to you in the same way it has touched me.

Casting Crows

"I will Praise you in the Storm"

I was sure by now

God you would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say "Amen", and its still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For you are who You are

No matter where I am

Every tear I've cried

You hold in your hands

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry

You raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can't You

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The maker of Heaven and Earth

some more fire updates

2008-11-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

http://www.sb-outdoors.org/fire/index.html

i am so heart broken. this website shows some pictures. im speachless.

westmont on fire!

2008-11-14T00:57:00.000-08:00

Today at 6pm erin called me to tell me that there was a fire behind Westmont and that students were being evacuated! What a scary thing! I talked to her for a while as she gave me little updates here and there. By the time I got home at 830, fire had spread all over montecito! The above picture is an image of route 101. it IS everywhere! as the family and I sat around the TV watching as red and orange flames licked the sides of buildings and trees we were eager to hear where exactly this fire was leading to. As we sat there the words "Westmont College" were said. I could not believe it! Westmont was on the news! The men and women that were reporting said that around 1300 students were safe in Westmont's fireproof gyM! what shocked my core was when she said that there were some hot spots at Westmont!!!!!!!! As we sat in horror, We heard that the Library,and the old math building, (both pictured above) the physics building, and the quanset huts were on fire!!!!! these quanset huts were where i worked during Phoneathon!!!!! they showed us image after image of buildings on fire! i couldnt distinguish between what was on Westmont property and what was not. After a while, they began to grow more and more concerned with Westmont. It was on all the stations now and it was all everyone was talking about. As the family and I watched, I recognized the stone hedge that protects Westmont's main drive way and welcomes students and families in as they drive up. After I saw that my heart began to sink. Now, the fire is getting too personal! Westmont is my home! As I sat on the edge of my seat, I witnessed Clark Halls being engulfed in flames. Fire spilled out of the top of the clark halls. fire was in the windows pouring out! Clark was were I was roomed my first year. It is where I met my boyfriend Geoff. It is where I met some of my best friends! It is the transfer section. enough said. it is home!!!!

I began to cry as I was talking to erin, whom I met in the transfer section in clark, I couldnt believe that it was burning down! I know I am not there anymore but it is still my school....my home!!!!!! WOW. i am still in shock. I read a friend's comment on facebook and she said "it is a good thing that Westmont is more than a place" and she is right. Westmont is a beautiful place with beautiful trees and amazing memories. I love them and will cherish them all, but Westmont is more than a place.... it is a warm feeling i get in the pit of my stomach, it is something to belong to, it is a name that always brings a smile to my face, it is my friend, it is a memory that will never leave. I dont know what is happening right now. I shut the news off. Every article I read made me more sad. I know this..... Erin and Justin are safe at home. Laura and her sister just arrived at erin's house and are safe. Jean marc is in the fireproof gym safe.and all the other students and facutly are being taken care of and they are safe and secure. and i know this.... THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL. No matter what happens. No matter what is still standing in the morning. I know that God works all things together for good. I know that he is STILL A GOOD GOD!!!!!! I am confident that the Lord is watching over my friends. I know because those friends of mine are HIS CHILDREN!!!! I Know that "it" will all be okay. I know that Troy Harris is the best man for this daunting job set before him. I know that all is in the hands of MY HEAVENLY FATHER!!! I know that PRAYER CHANGES THINGS! I KNOW THAT I HAVE A GREAT GOD WHO CAN CONTROL ANY FIRE!!!!

Please keep Westmont and Montecito in your prayers.

I will post more when I know more.

on a ferris wheel

2008-11-12T19:49:00.000-08:00

all of a sudden your breath gets taken away.

...

and

...

your heart stops

...

and

...

your heart is open at the same time.

there are highs and lows.

there are fast and slows.

hearts flutter

emotions soar

bodies reach the sky

life happens when on a ferris wheel

tick tock

2008-11-10T23:54:00.001-08:00

you know the feeling when you know that time is ticking by so you try to go faster and faster but its all in vain because the time speeds up faster than before? i think i am there.

a little bit

2008-11-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

today has been rather crazy already and its all happened before noon!!!!

i released a little bit of anger towards this crazy girl in class....

actually i held my tongue on alot of what i could have said.

when i spoke to her i was simply making factual statements and that sent her into a crazy whirlwind. geez. you should have seen it though.

im kind of a bad ass. ha

FALLing for you

2008-11-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is the season that makes me tingly all over. I FALL in love every time. Fall is my favorite time of the year because it reminds me of family and fresh baked cookies. The crisp morning air reminds me of the times my family and I had at our cabin in the mountains. Fall's beautiful leaves remind me of grandma bee. Strange because she would water the leaves down quite frequently. She didn't want the leaves to "stain" her lawn. Before she did water them down, she would let me see all the golden ones that had fallen that morning. Fall is precious to me. Fall has been kind to me.

Here are some of the things that I have been up to this fall season... I made some yummy marble cupcakes a couple weeks ago. I was inspired one fall day to bless my dear friends. I shared some wonderful moments with my

Grandma Reen and my dear sister Rachel by sharing in laughs, and lots of stories. We had a nice time being girls. :) Unfortunately, the cupcakes did not make it to my friends as I had planned. Apparently they would not travel well and I didn't want my friends to get a big chocolate mess.

we had a liter of 19 kitties.

They all had their own personalities.

We love them so much! :)

Rachel and I did a little hat shopping with Esther. We were not intending to find these wonderful hats, but oh my aren't they beautiful!??!

We visited pumpkin patches... we carved pumpkins... dressed up for halloween...

**MeeeeeeooooooW**

well that is all so far..... but FALLing for you isn't over quite yet..... we still have all of november :)

today is the day

2008-10-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

I guess today is the day that I start this whole "blogging" thing. For a while now, I have been following my friends' blogs and even my dad's and I saw how much fun they have on blogspot so I thought I would try it out. What is sad is that I am in class right now and totally distracted so I wanted to make a page! haha Dont tell mommy! anyway... I hope to keep this updated and keep it lots of fun! I will try to post more when Im not in class! :)

this is me signing off.....

cmc