My friend, Emily, told me something either last week or two weeks ago that I just realized today. It doesn’t matter how you look as long as you feel good. Example, I wore my Sri Lanka pants and a tank top today because it’s comfortable and at this moment, I am only focusing on looking  good for myself. I felt good and in my opinion, looked pretty cute.

My weekend consisted of the normal things, homework, friends, and of course, Disneyland, twice! Since it was Labor Day yesterday (Monday), there was no school. So what did I do? Well, after I finished my homework, I went to Disneyland with my friend and his friends/sister. It was great, as always. That was the second time this weekend I went, I’m so lucky! Yesterday was also the day that paid off my pass, which means I now go for free. hehe

I am going on the 18th for Dapper Day. An event Disney hold twice a year where 20,000+ people dress up in fancy clothes and go to Disneyland. There is also a separate event at the Disneyland Hotel which will have shopping and other stuff. I am still in between two outfits at this point. My options are Minnie Mouse (black/white polka dot dress with a red/white polka dot hair bow, and black boots) or Belle (blue dress with tiara, and black boots). Pictures below, shoes not shown.

Which is your favorite? 🙂

Toujours,

Tara

Minnie Mouse                     Belle

Since I am going into Fashion, I thought I would share some of my outfits with you all. I will start doing Disney outfits again as well as some random things, like I did for today. Which one is your favorite? What character(s) should I do next?

I love dressing up, it makes me feel happy. Some are my own personal ideas, while others are from Pinterest. I just use what I have in my closet and hope it works out.

Here are some picture of my resent outfits. Some casual and some a little more detailed.

Toujours,

Tara

Today is a lazy day; I woke up late, started my homework, washed the dishes, and did the laundry. It was all going well until laundry time…

All the clothes were in the machine, whites and darks were separate.  I was feeling really good and happy for myself. After the time was up, I opened the machine and started putting the wet clothes in the dryer. For some reason, I looked up at the directions on the washing machine and realized something…I forgot to add the soap. Sorry, Mommy. Take two!

Toujours,

Tara

PS. remember when I “killed” the spider with my vacuum? Yeah, it’s not dead. It’s crawling around in the vacuum. I was going empty it today, then I thought, “mmm, better not.” I’ll wait till I have a brave friend over. 🙂

I am officially a full-time student: I have five classes! I am now taking the Oceanography Lab. I went to the class today and we played with Emerita Analoga (sand crabs in English). The point of this experiment was for each group to collect the weight and length of ten sand crabs. Because we are the coolest, my group decided to name our crabs. Here is what we came up with: Katniss (she went first), Tom, Jerry, Mama (the biggest), Kyle Jr., Roger, Felicia, Kyle Sr., Spongebob, and Olaf. The sizes ranged from 10.25mm-17mm and 0.13g-0.52g for weight. I like the class so far because it is fun and interesting. Today, we also had a quiz on the syllabus. One of the questions was “What is the professor’s name?’ I got that one right!

I was looking at the class on the school website and saw something about fish dissection…WHAT!? I can’t even handle fish on a dinner plate if the head is still on. How am I going to dissect one?? Hopefully it’s a group thing and I can be the designated journalist.

Anyway, tomorrow I have Human Development and then DISNEYLAND!! So excited. I just haven’t picked an outfit yet…but have no fear, I got this!!

Toujours,
Tara

This is my drawing of Emerita Analoga.  Yes, it was part of the assignment; no, I am not an art major.

I don’t know if it’s just me or if all girls have these problems. If you do, please let me know so I know I am not the only one.

Is it the water? The temperature? The brush? No matter what I do, I ALWAYS lose hair in the shower. Tonight, I finished my shower and pulled out about a pound of hair from my brush (HUGE exaggeration, thankfully!) I bet if I saved all the hair I lose in the shower, I could make a sweater. Sounds gross, but it’s probably true. Since I throw away the tangled mess, a hair sweater is not in my future.

Speaking of tangles, I have tried many different types/brands of hair product for curly hair. My favorite two leave-in creams are Pantene Milky Damage Repair Oil Replacement and Garnier Ultra DOUX Intense Nutrition Cream Leave-In with Avocado Oil and Shea Butter.  These make my ringlets look really nice and they both smell amazing.

As for in-shower product, my favorite changes a lot. I think it depends on the place I live and the ease of access. For example, In Abu Dhabi, I used something I can’t get here in California. It is the Garnier Ultra DEUX Avocado Oil and Shea Butter Shampoo and Conditioner. It is a European brand, so the US does not carry it. It made my hair so soft at the time and now I only have the travel sizes I took to Canada, which are almost empty. (I am saving them for my next trip)

Now, in California, I have yet to find a good shampoo/conditioner for curly hair that I like. Any recommendations?

Until then, I will use what I have and make do!

Toujours,

Tara

My schedule is pretty straight forward. I end everyday between 11am and 12:45pm. I have Tap on Mondays and Wednesdays, English and Oceanography on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Human Development on Fridays. I have made friends in Tap and acquaintances  in Oceanography. I also made a friend from a friend of my parents. I met him today and we went to lunch down in Balboa on the water. It was so nice! Because we can, we are going to Disneyland on Friday! (after class of course)

I am really liking OCC and I hope some of these people will be added to my “forever friends” list.

Aside from the “New,” I went to dinner last night at the house of one of my old babysitters. It was so great to see her again and to finally meet her two adorable kids. Hopefully I will be able to see them all again soon.

As for future news, tomorrow I am going to buy a printer so I can turn in work that is actually legible. hehe

Toujours,

Tara

Now that I live on my own, I am forced to do things I, sorry to say, have either never or have rarely done. These include things like laundry, cooking, dishes, vacuuming, throw away the trash, and keeping my apartment clean along with other things. None of these are necessarily difficult and I actually find some of them soothing. Washing dishes, for instance, is fun when there is loud music playing. Taking out the trash has always been the WORST chore EVER, and now that I am the only one living in the apartment, the responsibility is all mine. Which, when you throw away mostly papers and the occasional fruit rinds, it’s not all that bad.

As for school, my chores include homework, studying, and organizing my binders and such. Today, I bought my 3-ring binders, because my 2-ring binders from Abu Dhabi are not good enough, a 3-hole punch, play-dough, because my Human Development teacher told us to (I’m not complaining), and tape, regular and double sided because I LOVE tape!

On another note, not about chores, I did something yesterday that I haven’t done in about two weeks: I WENT TO DISNEYLAND! I missed it. I have to make up for those five years of not going.  🙂

Anyway, tomorrow I have to figure out how to add a class and how to talk with a counselor. Wish me good luck!!

Toujours,

Tara

A lot has happened since I left Abu Dhabi on August 5. I spent a week in Montreal/Vermont with a high school friend and then I flew to LAX to meet back up with my parents. Within two weeks, I got an apartment, registered for classes, and went to Disneyland.

Now, August 28, 2015, I have completed my first week of college at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA. I am taking English, Oceanography, Tap dancing, and Human Development. I really enjoy my classes and even made a few new friends, one of which I am going with to Disneyland tonight. (I will almost never turn down a Disneyland invitation).

I rented/ordered and received two of my books and am debating on either renting the third to going to the library and scanning all 16 chapters.

But for now, I am going to relax and enjoy my first weekend of the semester!

Toujours,

Tara

I was just working in my room when my mom came in and asked if I wanted to go to a tennis tournament tonight. I thought about it for a min, because I have an exam tomorrow, and said yes. We arrived at the venue, which happened to be the house of a Sheikha who was playing in the first tennis match. We met our friends and took our seats to watch the match. The Sheikha’s team won and then everyone was invited into the pool house, yes a house for the pool, for refreshments. As we walked down from the bleachers, we saw the other players and congratulated them. That’s when we saw her, the Sheikha. We went up to congratulate her also and we got to shake her hand. I SHOOK HANDS WITH THE SHEIKHA!!

While we were enjoying our dessert, the Project Manager came over to us and told us that the Sheikha personally told her to ask that we come to all of her games because we cheered so much for her. What an opportunity!

I am so thankful for being able to go to this game, make a new friend, and meet the Sheikha. Thank you, Mommy, for taking me!

Toujours,
Tara

If you know me, you know I LOVE all things Disney! Since I am a Senior now, I decided to make myself noticeable, meaning I am dressing up more than most people. I find outfits online and create them using what I have in my closet. It is usually a Disney Character and the occasional random cute outfit. So far (not in any order) I have worn outfits corresponding to Mr. Smee from Peter Pan, Dumbo, Nemo/Merlin from Finding Nemo, Gil from Finding Nemo, King Triton from The Little Mermaid, Mushu from Mulan, and today I am Snow White. I love dressing up because A. It’s super fun! and B. I like the attention:) I will continue with this as school goes on and we will see how many characters I can dress like in my Senior year of high school.

Here are some pictures of my outfits so far.

Above: Left to Right: Mushu, Mr. Smee, Snow White

Below: Left to Right: King Triton, Gil, Nemo/Merlin, Dumbo

Toujours,

Tara