Hi. Haven't blogged in a while. BTW, my last post was supposed to be a Monday here. So I'll start with Tuesday onwards.

TUESDAY
Our family went to a faraway church in Oxnard to watch a Singing Christmas Tree. For those of you who are right now gawking at the screen thinking, "Christmas trees aren't alive, let alone opera singers!", well, it's isn't a real tree. It's like a big stage shaped like a Christmas tree and people stand all around the tree and they sing. It was cool. Then there was coffee and cookies afterwards.

WEDNESDAY
We went to Universal Studios (Hollywood)! Woot! We rode different rides like The Mummy (we rode that one twice!) and Jurassic Park the ride, where you can get all wet. We watched Shrek 4D and other shows like Special Effects and Animal Planet Live! and Waterworld and Terminator. We also rode the Studio Tours where they take you around the settings where they shoot their films and stuff. It was kewl!

THURSDAY
In the afternoon, Tita Pilar and me and Gibby went to Ria's school to pick her up. Then we went to S&S Doughnuts to buy doughnuts. However, since it was afternoon already, the yummy ones were all gone and we had to settle for Plain Jane glazed doughnuts. (They're not called Plain Jane BTW, it's just an expression). Then we went to Starbucks but I was too afraid to order the Caramel Frap since last time we ordered they gave us iced coffee with caramel syrup at the bottom, unlike the one I usually order in Singapore and in the Philippines. So I just shared Gibby's Peppermint Mocha thing. Then we went to Hollywood Video to borrow some DVDs. We borrowed Fantastic 4, Surviving Christmas and Christmas Child. Then we went home.

FRIDAY
In the afternoon, Tita Pilar and me and Gibby and Carlo (other cousin) went to the Optics shop to get Carlo a new pair of glasses since they broke while he was playing bastketball. Then we went to Ria's school to pick her up again. 'Twas their last day in school before Christmas break. She was playing basketball so we had to wait for around 30 minutes. It was boring so Carlo decided to shoot some hoops in the other court. Gibby and I just hung around with him. Then we went to Taco Bell (again, for the 4th time since we came). Then we went home.

SATURDAY
Me, Natalie, Gibby, Carlo, Ria and Tita Pilar went out. Tita Pilar bought Natalie and me some rubber shoes. My shoes have been falling apart since we left Singapore and I've had to glue the soles back millions of times. Anyway, they're supposed to be CHristmas presents from her. Then we went to Color Me Mine, one of those places where you can paint a ceramic figure and glaze it. I painted a cat and even branded a "K" on its rear with puffy paint, the kind of paint that stays puffed up even after glazing. Carlo didn't come. He always excludes himself from stuff. And Natalie, Ria and I have to force him to do stuff with us. I guess that's just how it is. Then we went home. That night Tito Bobby and me and Natalie and Gibby and Ria and Carlo (we persuaded him to come!) went to my cousins' old neighbourhood to check out the Christmas lights on the houses. There was this one street that always wins the Christmas lights display. There were tons of lights there and other stuff too like mini ferris wheels on the front lawn, among others. The whole street was just lit up! We decided to get down and have a look around since other people were milling around and lots of cars were going around that street just to see the lights like we were. Some people were giving out free candy canes to people and there was this house with people in front wearing letters and they were lined up such that they spelled "HONK!" Then once cars see it, they honk theire horns and the people wearing the letters scream and cheer. Haha. Then we went to Starbucks again and I was finally brave enough to try ordering the Caramel Frap, since Ria assured me that the last order I got was a mistake. So I did and I did get get a frap, except that it wasn't exactly like the ones I usually order in Singapore and in the Philippines in the sense that the frap didn't seem at all caramel-like in any way. It was more like the Mocha Frap. I still drank it anyway. Then we went to Albertson's Supermarket and bought groceries. I bought a disposable camera that takes black and white photos. KEWL. Carlo bought 4 domino sets so that we could make a big Domino Effect thing. That night we all slept in Carlo's room! It was so fun. He has a KING-SIZED BED! But he and Gibby slept up while us girls stayed on the floor on mattresses.

SUNDAY
Woke up and went to Grace Baptist again. Went to Papa John's Pizza and ordered to go. I love the cheese pizza! That night we ate in a Korean Restaurant. And for dessert we got Baskin (31) Robbins. I got mint, as usual. Then we went home and slept in Carlo's room again with Natalie and Gibby up, and me, Ria and Carlo down. I slept in between Carlo and Ria and in the middle of the night they both pressed into me and I couldn't sleep properly.

MONDAY (TODAY)
Our family went to my mom's cousin's house n Panorama City and we all went out to eat in Hometown Buffet. I was stuffed! Then we went to Seafood City, a supermarket full of Filipino products. Near it was Red Ribbon and Chowking and other Filipino eating places. Then we went home. Oh yeah, Gibby fell in the swimming pool! Haha. And that was my week!