Gymnastics at Cuz's House

                      This is our gymnastic tricks!! And it is at Cuz's house. We worked very hard on it. Gymnastics, like I said before WAS my passion, but as for now, it is history. You better enjoy this!! It was hot and humid in the living room and we put a lot of sweat into this! jkjk enjoy to your liking :)

Asia Trip Summary

                    This is just a summary, so that means there were many more things happening. Its just that, you know, jet lag and tummy aches you don't feel like recording :D

Newspaper Nails (the tutorial)

                  I'm trying to get all the videos I can in before sch....sch....s...school

Back to School: Pencil Updo

A lot of you have been wondering how I did this during the school year, so here you go!

DIY tank top

 These are all the different styles you can make with this DIY tank! Kudos to Chubster for picking out that amazing jacket!

1. Get an old tank of yours. It doesn't have to be a racer back but it looks a lot better. It also doesn't have to be white either.

2. Measure 1.5 inches and then make a small dot around 1 cm. away from the hem. This will be to mark down what you cut.

3. Make a 1 cm line to show how wide you are going to cut. Be sure to use pencil for this or else the mark will show. Also the measurement depends on the width of your ribbon.

4. Now cut the small lines with your scissors

5. Iron your ribbon, ONLY IF IT NEEDS IT. You see, my ribbon is more of a  cotton fabric. If you have a satin ribbon DON't iron it or else it will melt into a hard piece of plastic...

6. Weave in your ribbon and leave 16.5 inches off

7. Do the same to the other side

8. Start tying a bow the rabbit ear style ;D but make sure not to tie it so tight that the holes stretch out

9. It should look like this with the bow hanging down

10. Now cut the excess bow to the same length and your are done! You can always add your own style to it. You cut off all the excess bow and sew it on the tank. You can add a little sparkle by sewing on sequence, anything you want really! It will just make your DIY tank a little more "Y"

Converse Nails

                       Judging by the poll, it looks like converse nails won! So here you go!
ps: Did these on my own nails so its easy but a little time consuming! As you can see I only did them on my left hand (I'm not going to lie it takes a looong time) but on my other hand I just did the same colors but blank :P Hey! At least I am being HONEST. I would just do it on both hands if I were you ;)

Backwalkover

                This is when I was still into gymnastics but uh... not any more. I could still do a back walkover, its just that I don't like to :) but here is a baby back walkover. Enjoy!

Psalm 23

              *see bottom of long post
           1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
             This verse you see here is one that is really important to me. I first come to know it because my dad told my siblings and I, that we should memorize it. When you memorize a verse you not only improve your memory, but you also take it to heart eventually. Like listening to your favorite song. You eventually memorize the lyrics and put those lyrics in your heart (for the better and for the worst). Anyways, I used this verse especially for my trip to Asia. I would pray for travel mercies, small issues, and safety. But I think God has shown me something better before asking Him what I want all the time. He has shown me that I should trust in him for it says "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want" Can this lesson God is trying to get through to me be anymore obvious?? I really took this verse to my heart whenever I felt like I wasn't safe or felt insecure. 

Inside the red structure is where the idols are

               I used this verse in China when we visited the temples for the idols. There was one place they took us to where there were 2 GIANT idols. It was pretty intimidating... my dad said we don't have to see it if we don't want to. But I wanted to see with my own eyes what kind of work Satan is doing in China. I want to be concerned about it and see how much China needs help. So I think Ant (brother) and I went in mostly because of curiosity. Ant went with the rest of the group leaving me alone (THANKS A LOT! SERIOUSLY BRO!) and I was feeling eery. I was so vulnerable I jumped when turning and seeing my shadow move. shivers. But that is what Satan can do to you. He tells you that you are weak, so weak you jump at your own shadow. He tells you that you are powerless. Which is true, but with the power of our Father what can stand against right? So during my fright, I remembered "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me..." Which comforted me a lot. 
                Another time in Cambodia, when we were going back, we had some techy-diffies with Thai Air so we had to stay in Bankok for 1 night at a cool hotel. Anyways, during the shock of "delayed" next to Thai Airlines I was panicking. What if we miss our flight to NY? (2 days from then) What if we have to stay here for more days!!?? Dang it! I wanted to spend the full 2 days in Taiwan to go take the clean subways one more time! Those were the things going on in my head. I think the worst of the scenario so when it is bad, it's not that bad ;D But I also remembered a song from worship that I also think is in the bible. It was "I will be still and know you are God" That helped me a lot especially how God calmed me down by putting my family in an amazing hotel, to distract us from our worry. 
                 *Sorry this is really long, you don't have to read the whole thing if you don't feel like it :) But I would suggest you do :D

Major NAIL TIP!

When your nail polish is clumpy

Don't get frumpy

When it gets dry

Start to realize

That there is a way

You don't have to pay (a lot)

To fix this dismay

Use nail polish remover

To make the nail polish smoother

Add a few drops 

Close the top

And shake it a lot

Another tip that is helpful

Be extremely careful

Put the remover on a tissue

If you don't, It's an issue

Take the bottle and wipe the top

Keep on going and don't stop

It looks like we are out of time

I hope you enjoyed this cheesy rhyme

Want real instruction content

Just comment

-Fail Whale Crazy Rabbit-

Everyone is There Own Person

               
             I think since yesterday I've been having one of those "sigh..." type of days where nobody understands me at times (what a typical teenager). I got into a disagreement with Chubster (still a kid at heart ;) We both know how to tick each other off and I figured out that when one of us is in a bad mood, the other is most likely in a bad mood too :( Not all the time though. Usually when she is in a bad mood I stay away from her, but the day before I slept late and woke up early for track and was vulnerable to catch the moodyness. The next day my dad went to work. My dad is the only one who really gets me in times like this. We think extremely alike and have similar personalities. Also, my mom and my brother are alike, along with my sister. My sister gets me at times, but only for the inside jokes we share. So my dad knows what I'm thinking before I say it out loud. But unfortunately he wan't there :( That day was pooey for me.
                 You know how you are having a disagreement with a sibling and then you give up letting the sibling get what she... I mean he/she wants? And then you try to get them in trouble later on? Yeah that only works sometimes... but what I've learned is that everyone is there own person. If your brother, sister, or friend acts a certain way, thats the way they are. It's up to them to change and you to tell them constantly. But if they don't want to change, there is nothing you can do about it. Same for myself. If the people I love such as my family tell me that I need to chill, I think I have to go and find my peace of mind. Listening to people has always been my weak point, but I have to learn the hard way. People that are not from your family won't tell you in a loving way that you were a jerk the other day (trust me).
                 Later on before bed, Chubster and I had to discuss our problems. An actual discussion! Where one person talks and the other listens (vise versa). It was really productive because we made up at the end. And not the type of "making up" where we just forget it ever happened. The type where we acknowledge our own faults and forgive each other. During a fight sometimes I just feel like giving up on loving someone the way God did. But thats not the way it works. Towards the end we have to set the example for others. Like when Chubster got a small flower pot for herself (plant growing contest), I still bought her a snack from the Chinese Super Market! I have to always remember that Chubster is still young, and needs an older sister to show her the way even though she's a tween. When she didn't want to clean our room and my mom told her to do so, she got really upset at my mom. So when I talked to her and said we were going to do this together she felt a lot better. Like the cute toddler she used to be!!!!!
                 So that has been your update of "What Rachel Learned This Week" stay tuned, yay... But really, everything is true about what I feel. The people we love mean the most, so don't ruin that relationship from one fight. (I'm not talking specifically on Chubster and I, but maybe in the future or other examples in your life)

Thank you Marshall's

                 At Marshalls (>.< free advertising) I also got some really cheap (in $) track wear! My coach told my to go there for good quality and low price (again >.<) The pants are really cool and as you can see they reflect lights. The orange outfit goes well together and the shorts are reversible!!! The blue shirt is really well made. I'm so happy for the future in my track life ^-^ Not because of the clothes I meant to say... but because it started getting easier for me and fun. Yeah, that's what I meant :)

            

Essie Nail Polish

Notice the bubbles in the background :o

                   I have been staring at this nail polish at CVS for a very long time... I bought this from Marshalls! I got them for $3.00 each which is actually pretty good for the brand Essie. Any nail polish under $2.00 with a unfamiliar brand, you should stay away from. I love this brand because they have amazing colors and the nail polish is like opaque water! It is so thin but bold!!! I LOVE IT <3<3<3

Trick for Two

                 I got this move from a video I found. We had Chubster on the bottom (tallest, heaviest), me on top (bravest, smallest) and Cuz video taping (steadiest, coolest phone :P) We had to practice the dynamics of this several times before we got it right. Sarah is supposed to move her feet to support me and bring up with a half back roll. We got hurt so many times, that when we finished a perfect one I was like "Hey! We didn't get hurt!" and that was a big accomplishment for us ^-^ I fell on my head on the floor once, and Chubster got stepped on the face by Cuz but at the end, it's all good bro. I DON'T advice you try this AT ALL! Yeah we shouldn't even be doing it because none of us are taking classes but we have a mat! And we used the third person to spot and make sure everything is under control... somewhat. We also used to take classes together.
               Ahh... gymnastics. I have so many mixed feelings about it. I think I'm pretty good at it and would do well if I tried but ever since I heard it stunts your growth, I stopped. But I love it and it is so fun to know what your body could do but, I don't like being in a bridge kickover, backwalkover, or handstand for too long. I also don't like beam :P Other than that I think it is sooooo fun but I finalized that I'm only going to improve on the basic things and flexibility because I can actually use that in dance. So I have concluded that gymnastics as a sport is not for me, but gymnastics as a hobby sounds just about right :D

Central Park Ballet

there is my teacher to the far left

                     A thing I haven't posted yet was my love for dance! Ever since I was 4 years old I took dance lessons from the same teacher. At first I loved it well... I was 4. But in elementary school I started to hate it. I had classes after school on Friday so I wanted to watch Lilo and Stitch but instead I had to go to ballet class :( During middle school I started to love it again because it is nice to express your dance in movement. Although there isn't a lot of the acrobatic/gymnastic stuff that I like, it is just as good. In some dances we do do gymnastic stuff so YAY. So yeah, this is a picture from Central Park the Bethesda Garden. This dance is called the "Three Graces" by Isodora Duncan. My teacher likes a lot of Duncan pieces because it is more of how you dance it than the actual choreography. Thats me to the right, Tess in the middle, and Anastasia to the left. All of us took dance at a really young age so we are now the "big girls" of the dance school along with a few others. Unfortunately I have to pick between ballet and track unless I could do them both while getting good grades at school. Huff! Schoooooooooool >:(

Bar Code Nails/Jail Nails

                By popular request (heehee) here are Bar Code Nails. They are easy with a skinny black brush and look pretty cool. These are Chubster's nails so it might be harder to do on your own :( but it's pretty self  explanatory. You can print out reference if you need to but it is simply just different widths of black lines. It looks pretty busy but it is a fun design. Enjoy!

At the Beach with Besties

Me, Ecca, and Ha  :P

                     Super fun day at the beach with two of your best friends. What can be any better?? We've been planning it for the whole summer and finally we did it! Being with friends is really important to maintain the friendship. This fall, I'll be in a different school as them and I'm really going to miss them :( But like Ha said, we'll still make it work somehow :D

                     Chubster did this for the "experience" I told her it was :P She has some curves!!

jumping...this was one of the 5 good ones

Never to be Forgotten

           It has now been around a 2 weeks and a half since I came back from Poipet, Cambodia (okay what is really sad is that blogspot doesn't recognize "Poipet" as an actual word :O) Anyways, where was I... oh right! Around 2 weeks or so since I've been in Cambodia and I find myself always thinking about them. Usually, once I meet knew people in a new country I fly back to my normal life and forget about them but, it's different this time. Every single day I would come across a thought about them. It's really hard to explain but I think I developed a certain compassion for people around me. It's like God planted this experience in my heart so I could remember it everyday.
          The most sweetest people, children, even babies I've ever met. Through their struggle of poverty, government, and education these people can still manage to smile at you. China for instance is a huge country with a lot of people. I would have to say, that the majority of China's people are not satisfied with their economic status. The "not so rich" people have to work very hard every day to earn a living. So, when we came for the tour, the people would be really rude and look at us like "rich American" that have money to travel to different places. (Sooo sorry if you're from China D:) But what I'm trying to say is that the people of Cambodia and China are in a way similar but, very different. The people of Cambodia would accept their lifestyle as it is and still have a heart for others (at least the ones that I met). The people of China accept their lifestyle but compare it to others and in anger, be rude to them. Again, so sorry.To make it up, China has really good hotels! Did that fix it?
          I'm really happy I got to travel this year out of the country. It's really different when you see how others live. It really is! People of different classes, race, and culture really open up your mind to the things that aren't only from America.

The Bow

                  You've might have seen this before but, anyways this is a bow as you can see. It is sort of easy if you have good bobby pins and longish hair. Personally I wouldn't where this to school because it is a bit time consuming for me but, to a special event I would :) So if you want a brief tutorial, you know where to go (comment box).

Current Fav. Nail Polish Color

love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love this color

Cousin Sleepover Partay BASH

Cuz, Chubster, and Crazy Rabbit