prayer, meditation and dance central

this past saturday was the 2nd stop in a 3-part bridal shower series. with the eat, pray, love themed bridal shower extravaganza, and the "eat" part already taken care of...it was time to head out to india, arizona for some prayer and self discovery. since the bride to be spent most of her time living in arizona, (and with the maitron of honor living there), it was only appropriate to have everyone there join in on the celebration.

the beautiful matiron of honor (niece of the bride), ms. morgan casey gilmore along with her mother (sister of the bride) played hostess to the festivities. to keep with the "pray" theme, the gilmore home was transformed into our very own indian temple. complete with specific chakra colors chosen for the bride.

red...the base...to ground spirit forces in body
orange...sacral...utilization of creative forces in all aspects of being
green...heart...release emotionally suppressed trauma
indigo...third eye...clearing subconscious to channel intuition

it was beautiful! the mellow bollywood tunes playing in the background definitely set the mood and had everyone feeling like we were in india.

later...alberta...the bride's eldest sister, who just so happens to be a practicing yogi lead us in some simple meditation and prayer exercises that put us all in a state of peace...and sore arms. lol. the food was delicious...and the company was more than entertaining. one of the highlights of the night for myself was meeting up with this beautiful mama.

i've known ms. robin almost as long as i've known ana and morgan, and now that she resides in arizona, it was so nice to see her and just crack up for days talking about all our adventures back in hawai'i.

after we got all relaxed and ready for bed...morgan just had to challenge us all in the art of dance! lol. so this is what we spent the rest of the night doing. lol.




it was nice to chill and hang out with the rest of ana's family out in az...even if it was for a short trip. this just makes me even more excited for the final shower in cali...where we'll be celebrating love in bali, california.

bridal shower extravaganza!!!!

so in a previous post I mentioned how two of my besties will be getting hitched in a few months. well as is tradition, i had the pleasure of hosting a shower for the bride. one problem...she lives in cali, and i live in utah. solution....fly her here!!!

bunzie boarding her flight in long beach. next stop salt lake city!

the theme of this bridal shower extravaganza was based off of the movie/book "eat, pray, love." it just so happens to be one of the brides favorite movies, and she always talked about how she wanted to go on a trip similar to that of the author's. so what better way than to create our own little version of it for her?! first stop...ITALY...via utah. lol. yup...we jump started the tri-state event with an italian based shower complete with italian cuisine...spaghetti with meatballs....hahahaha...(hey...i had to feed a lot of people so this was the easiest way to go). along with salad and garlic bread (thanks to my big sis), and a chocolate fountain for dessert! the decor was simple with red and white checkered table cloths and a simple glass vase with dried pasta for the centerpieces.

some of the decor...soooooo simple

but i think the highlight of the night...aside from the bride to be...were the games! i had asked one of my fellow music boxers, raija, to plan a few games for the occasion. raija was ana's actual roommate in the music box, and they have a special connection, so she went ALL out with her games!!! i mean...ALL.OUT! with a full on intro for both too! it was so much fun! the best part was one of the games she planned was the traditional toilet paper wedding dress competition...but raija added a little flava to it. she straight busted out the project runway wedding dress competition!!! it was ridiculous!!! everyone had their own little kits to see who could come up with the best wedding dress...best wedding accessories (accessible on bluefly.com..and yes she really said that)...and best honeymoon outfit! i wish i had videotaped her introduction because she was just on point with the terminology and everything! it was great! i never had so much fun making a toilet paper dress! lol

our project runway contestants...lol

not only did she outdo herself with the games, but with the prizes as well! one of my faves was the homemade biscotti. not only was it delicious...but the packaging was the cutest ever!

raija's prizes for the winners. soooo cute

afterwards...it was my turn to buss out a few more games. for those of you who know me...i like to plan ahead...but there are times when i tend to do everything at the very last minute. this was one of those occasions. i've thrown many a bridal shower before, and have attended many as well...but i couldn't, for the life of me remember any of the games we played! so i called my trusty bff maria...and she refreshed my memory and MORE with these little treasures.

the first game i had everyone play involved a golf club and toilet paper. lets call it toilet paper on a stick. i had 4 teams of 2 partner up, and one person had to stand on one end of the room with the golf club between their legs (handle sticking out) while the other person waited on the other side with 4 rolls of toilet paper. that person had to walk across the room with a roll of toilet paper between their legs to their partner, and transfer the roll onto the golf club without using their hands. it was HILARIOUS!!! pictured below are our winners in action...eileen and crystal. man...eileen was booking it back and forth with those toilet paper rolls!

eileen working it with that toilet paper! hahaha

next we played a hot dog game. i had strung a thread through the ends of hot dogs and had everyone tie it around their waist so the hot dogs would hang between their legs. hahahaha. then i put a plate of tacks on the ground and everyone had one minute to get as many tacks as they could on the hot dog without using their hands. they could still adjust the string...and that was the hint to winning the game. the methods used to get those tacks were crazy funny!!! there were tacks flying everywhere!!! hahahaha. in the end...crystal came out victorious...AGAIN! she was the smart one who used the string as opposed to using her body. lol. i wish i got more pictures of everyone trying...but here's one of some of the contestants before the game started.

eileen and lindsay getting ready to play

the last game was a fun one. i had two gift cards wrapped up in tissue paper and a lot of tape. each group was given a dice/die?? and every person took turns rolling. who ever rolled a one could start unwrapping the card. the catch was everyone else could keep rolling until somebody else rolled a one. once they did, they could take the card away and have a chance at unwrapping it. whoever unwrapped the card was the winner. at first it seemed a little slow, but as each layer of tape came off, the volume got louder and louder. with people yelling "ONE" every time a one was rolled. lol. in the end, the two players who joined the game at the last minute came out victorious...hahaha.

molly and shelby...last to join in and end up winning

the shower was a huge success. what was supposed to be a small and simple event, turned into an evening full of good people, good food, and good good fun! congratulations ana!!! march is just around the corner!!!

some of the music box ladies with honorary musicboxer malia...lol

the musicboxer episode

after being all nostalgic with my life at the musicbox, i realized it was necessary to document some KEY moments in the brief time i spent living there. the one that sticks out in my mind the most, was the night we got dubbed the "musicboxers." *sigh* let me just say...that i am a fun loving person, who loves everyone. never do i go out looking for trouble. the same goes for my roommates. we enjoy having a good time, and look for the best way to do so. i just need to disclose this bit of information about us before continuing with this story.

so...back in february of 2007, ms. lauryn hill herself came to hawaii. i am a HUGE...and i mean....HUGE lauryn hill fan. so as soon as they announced she was coming to hawaii, there was not a doubt in my mind that i would be there. NONE! so of course....many of my roommates....avid fans as well....decided to make it a house activity. so half of the house, tiana, ida, crystal and myself went along with our musicbox honorees, kara, and ofo. sadly...ana, raija and kat couldn't make it...but i'm kinda glad they didnt. it would've been TOO much if our WHOLE house got involved.

so anyhoo....we got there early enough to secure a spot front and center of ms. hill's stage. there were like 3 or 4 stages with different groups performing, but we knew we had to get to her stage early, cuz the crowd would be crazy. and boy were we luck we did...cuz it was a MAD house by the time she came out to perform. needless to say...she is FLAWLESS!!! the BEST concert i've been too so far. and now that i think about it...it may have been my last. hahahaha. here's a few pix from that night. and for some reason...i can't seem to find the pix we got of ms. hill herself...but trust...we were RIGHT THERE!!!




now....let's get to the "beef" of the story. so like i mentioned before...we were right at the front, and the crowd was mad packed. there was hardly ANY room for us to move. let alone have people walk through. but for some reason...these two highly intelligent girls decided they could stroll on up to the front. now...as i mentioned before..me and my girls were all G. we didn't care wut these two monkeys were doing...we just thought...they were just tryna find a way out of the crowd. wrong. they started squeezing themselves up to the front of the stage right next to us. which was really fine with us...but the group next to us was NOT feeling it. it really didn't help that these two girls were caucasian, tryna squeeze their way in front of a mess of poly women. wrong move. lol.

one of the girls in the group next to us started yelling at them to get out. but...again...brilliant as they are, these two DRUNK (might i add) haole girls decided to argue back. not a good idea. seeing this...i knew something bad was about to happen, so i tried to intervene and help these girls find their way out. and that's when it started. as i was tryna separate the two haole girls from the group next to us, and lead them out the side....somehow they got separated, one in the very front of the stage, and the other was standing behind me. the one behind me was taller than me (surprise surprise right? lol) and in an effort to get to her friend...she had the bright idea to put her arm around my neck in an effort to choke me!!! are you serious?! are you freakin serious?!

because she was taller than me...all i remember is reaching up and grabbing that chick by the hair. but apparently some girls behind me saw what she was doing to me, and started pulling her hair from behind. hahahaha!! next thing i know, i pulled down, twisting out of HER grasp and just started throwing blows at her face. i got a couple blows in when next thing i know, security or someone pulls her away, and all i hear is lauryn hill stop the concert!!! omg...shame. yes...she stopped in the middle of her beautiful singing because we were fighting.

now...mind you...i wasn't the only one involved in this lovely brawl. and this is why i LOVE these girls. i know they got my back. what i forgot to mention was while i was pulling that girl off of me and bringing her down to my level...tiana...who was like 10 ft away after seeing what was going on came running through the crowd and jumped in to a get a shot at homegirl. and then...crystal and ofo who were at the front next to the other haole chick...were trying to throw her over the barricade to get her out!!!! buahahahahaha!!!! omg. omg. omg. now that i think about it...it was pretty crazy. but it all happened so quickly...and nothing would've happened had that girl kept her hands to herself.

it wasn't long til EVERYONE heard about it. kalofae. and thats when we went from the ladies of the musicbox to the musicBOXERS!!!! aiya. but i must say...this experience brought us soooooo much closer. fo' real. gladly, that was our first and LAST rumble. and this is why i LOOOOOOOOOVE these girls. through thick and thin...they got my back and they know i got theirs.

musicbox memories

every have one of those days where all you seem to do is reflect on life over the past few years??? well today is definitely one of those days for me. i mean, i can't help but think about stuff when there's NOTHING to do at work....lol. well...i SHOULD be planning for our college fair in november...but come now...i've been overworked the past few months, i think i need some "reflection" time. lol.

anyhoo...while here at work...besides cruisin' the book (facebook for you newbies)...i started going through some old photos on my bebo (another social network) page and couldn't help but reminisce about my life at the musicbox.

i don't recall ever writing about my "life inside the musicbox." (which is an awesome song btw by regina spektor). lol. anyways...back to my nostalgic moment....while browsing thru these flix i couldn't help but smile with every click. isn't it amazing how a single picture can tell a story?! and these were GREAT ones!!! to save me some time from uploading pix...feel free to check out the album here.


for those of who aren't too familiar with the musicbox...this was the home to 10....yes...10 amazing ladies. now before u start trippin...no we didn't ALL live here at the same time...but at times it felt like we lived with waaaaaaay more. this blog definitely would not be complete without sharing the story of how the musicbox was founded...so be prepared to exercise those eyes. lol

in the summer of 2006, i was living in hauula with two girl friends...kat tua'one (now pahulu) and tiana henderson. we lived in a small 2 bedroom house in the country...and it was obvious that we needed more room. with all our late night and sometimes OVERNIGHT visitors, it was time to move on. with the up and coming school year, a few more friends were moving to hawaii to finish their degrees, crystal moleni (now tua'one), and juanita afamasaga. ida aspinall, another friend, who had been living with family was also looking to branch out. then came ana aiono and morgan casey (now gilmore)...two fun-loving gals from arizona who i befriended at work (turtle bay at the time). they were looking for a cheaper place to live that wasn't so far from work.

so there you have it...8 girls...all looking for a bigger place. i took it upon myself to find accommodations for ALL of us. since i had already started looking for a new place for just the 3 of us (me, tee and kat), i thought...hey...why not find a bigger house. after about a month...i found this beauty...

hahahaha! ok...it wasn't this bright blue when we were living there. as a matter of fact it wasn't blue at all. the landlord JUST painted it this year. it was more of an off white color. but anyways...this was our home...or...the second floor at least. the deal breaker was that it was literally down the street from my parents home. so if ever we needed anything...we could just walk to their house. lol. and trust...we took advantage of that many a starving night. we moved in on august 1, 2006.

i will probably have to create another blog to begin to discuss the memories we had at this house. there was never...and i mean NEVER dull moment. from birthday parties, to full on bbqs across the street. from serenades to intense board games. much fun was to be had at the musicbox. ahhhh...which brings me to the name...when we had our first "house meeting" we all brainstormed, and miss nita came up with "the musicbox", because the house was overflowing with musical talent. which just so happened to be showcased almost every other night. be it in the house, or in our front yard...the beach. it was awesome. it got to the point where everyone in our ward referred to us as the "musicboxers" which is a whole other blog in and of itself.

now i know i mentioned 10...and only listed 8. well...in november of that same year, ms. raija joined our lovely group...just before morgan moved back to arizona. and then after crystal graduated from byuh in april of the next year, ms. ofo filimoeatu took her place. it wasn't until january of 2008 when everyone bid farewell and went their seperate ways. some got married. some graduated. and some just moved home.

as i reflect on my time there...i can't help but be grateful for having these women in my life. the time we shared here will be forever cherished. but i know that no matter how far apart we are...since we are an international group ranging from the u.s., sweden, australia, and korea....i know that nothing can come between us. these women are truly my sisters. i will do anything...and i mean ANYTHING for them...and i know the feeling is mutual. so here's to the musicbox. stay posted for a few stories...cuz trust...there are many.

this is the ONE pic i could find with ALL of us and our honorary members...lol