Can You Say HORMONAL??

It's starting to hit me, and no one stands a chance. If you look at me wrong, you're dead to me, raise your voice to me and you're just dead. I have long days, school 8:30-5, then I work. Two days ago I was supposed to work till 9:30, so you can imagine how annoying it was staying till 12:30am. I love the money, so I typically agree to staying to help, but that doesn't mean my hormones are agreeing. It was around 11pm, with only five people working, and we were getting slammed. I was taking orders in the drive, making drinks, and handing out the food. Seems easy, but when you are trying to roll 30 cars in a half hour, you can't waste a second. On top of the rush, I get so annoyed with the border line down syndrome customers. After about an hour taking orders, you start to lose it. This is what I deal with:
Customer: "What is the difference between a hamburger and a cheese burger?"
Me: "One piece of cheese sir...."
 (really??? We live in America, we are known for eating burgers and fries, who doesn't know the difference?)

Customer: "I would like a number two no onions, and thats it."
Me: "Uh, so what do you want to drink?"
 (when you order a combo, you're aware it comes with fries and a drink. You obviously know to order onions or no onions, so why can't you manage to tell me your drink??)

Customer: "Can I switch the drink for a shake?"
Me:"Yeah"
Customer: "Ok, I'll do that."
Me: "Soooo what kind of shake?"

Oh heavens my heart is angry thinking about hearing these comments. People, we only sell burgers, fries, and shakes. You can order a number 1, 2, or 3, that's it. Why are people still having complications?

Anyways, so I was already annoyed with taking orders, I can't describe how not funny it was when my friends/employees started joking around with me. My manager asked me to do something and I stared at him and said "Watch the tone Jeff" then all the guys laughed and warned everyone to not go in my corner. Funny now, but can't say I was laughing then.
So all of that is going on at work, then I have to deal with school. I had an elderly lady as my client yesterday, and the second I introduced myself she asked if I was pregnant. Old lady river, if this was just a month ago when I was just fat, I would of snapped your neck. As the words came out of her wrinkled mouth, I thought back to China. I was getting a pedicure, when the guy asked my translator a question, the look on my translators face told me it was something I didn't want to hear. So of course I made him tell me. He saw a ring on my left finger and wanted to know if I was married and pregnant. With my other friends with me, listening, I was so embarrassed. This lady, although she was so sweet and genuinely excited for me, she almost lost her life. Utah sucks because there are 7 pregnant girls at my school, it really makes things not special.  Who cares what you are all having, or what crafts you've made for your baby room. You make me sick.
Ugh all this venting literally made me sweat out my anger. I feel great, I'm almost ready for a nap.
I am trying to leave my anger at the door when I come home. Is it working....I'll let Frank tell you how LOVELY I am. It's hard when we both have long days. He works two jobs, both commission, so half the time he is wasting his time and not getting paid. I can only imagine not making any sales, knowing you have a cranky wife on edge and a baby on the way. Whooooops. The good news is, when he makes me angry, it's something I can laugh off. He is just so cute, because he tries so hard to please me, but we all know boys just don't get it. I am so thankful to him for putting the dishes away, but when I open the cupboards and see that things are out of place or the tupperware was thrown in and not stacked, I immediately think "really?? why would you think it would go there? It never goes there!" Then after a deep breath, I realize I'm psycho and I just have a husband who loves me enough to help out, and that he is still a man who doesn't give a crap about the tupperware being stacked. Silly husband, silly wife equals one big happy family.
Speaking of happy family, did I mention I'm finally convinced we are having a ninja baby. It was always implied since my hubby is half Chinese, and both of us have taken Tae Kwon Do, so it's like, obviously the kid won't talk back, he will Judo Chop me in the throat. Racist, no, realistic yes! Last night I woke up to sharp pains in my right side. Ninja baby, escaped the placenta and was trying to exit through my side. I swear I felt his head bulging out my side. I now say it's a he, because my girls will be so innocent and pure, you know...kinda like how I was....I'm cool with this ninja baby though as long as this whole thing doesn't go all Twilight on me, and I grow a mutant baby that sucks the life out of me and frank has to eat through my stomach to get the baby out. Although I could lose a few pounds from the traumatic experience.

Here's the thing, I just read this whole blog, and in case you didn't notice, I am a full throttle delusional pregnant lady. Worst part is, I don't even care. At least I still have 8 of my toe nails and frank hasn't left me yet. Plus I graduate in 5 months!!! Life is B E A U TIFUL! Well, until next time......

Baby Shower For Baby Dragon

So I am coming home for the family reunion! Elise and I are driving out April 8th-14th (sunday-sunday). I know it is very EARLY for my baby shower, but under my circumstances (school full time, working nights, and living in another state) now is the only time I can come home. I'm only coming because I have two days off for spring break, so I only need to miss 4 days of school. I'm aware that the chances of my doctor telling me the sex of my baby at 18 weeks is minimal, but as a first time mommy I need it all! Burp rags, bottles, wipes, diapers, swings, bouncers, toys, blankets, bibs, pacifiers, and much more! All of that won't matter if it's a boy or girl. Really, anything, even hammy-downs, are very much appreciated. We just hoped for newer stuff to last us through all of our kids. I am super excited and look forward to seeing all our new baby stuff, because you are all much more experienced than I am, so you will know perfect things that my baby will love. I've always loved being apart of baby showers and the birth of babies, so I can't wait to share mine with all of you.
I remember always wanting to get married young, and have babies and be a stay at home mom. It all seemed like so much fun. Well it is, but now that I watch Teen Mom and I watch them give birth, knowing it's actually going to be me soon, makes me want to keep my legs crossed forever. I'm hoping I can sneak in a second epidural or be lucky enough to sneeze my baby out.
Jeez, am I really going to be a MOM?  If you ever get tired of your kids, any age, send them this way! Frank and I need some practice as parents. There is a 10 min limit though, were not that interested in watching kids.

Here is a link to my registry at Walmart, although obviously gifts can be from anywhere. I hope this doesn't come across as greedy, I just don't know everything a baby needs, so really we will take anything and any suggestions. Frank's aunt Toni bought Frank's crib, so she has offered to buy us our crib. Other than that, we have nothing but love for our baby!

http://www.walmart.com/giftregistry/gr_detail.do?registryId=80543641003
If this doesn't work, just search Ashley Chou under Walmart's baby registry. 

You Can't Tell Me NO

It's true, telling me "no" only makes me that more determined to do so. Ask my parents or husband, If I can't get my way then I'll bribe you until I get close. So when they told me at school that I couldn't recreate my best haircut, I said "watch and learn turds". So Tuesday I did the haircut, and Wednesday I had to re-do it. Well you see Tuesday I got a little excited, and once again I cut my pointer finger. It was a deep one, one that I couldn't just hide in the persons hair.Wednesday rolled around and I got my client. The pressure was on, I needed to recreate my latest "cut". After a thorough consultation, a long scalp massage and wash, I took that drenched hair and started chopping away. Eight minutes into the cut I did it, I recreated my last cut. Once again I had blood dripping from my pointer finger, I re-cut yesterdays "cut". DONE-ZO! Easy peasy, I wasn't even trying to get the cut exactly, but I did. So basically it's like, you can't tell me no.
Just a few of the scars: (two on middle finger by knuckle, one in middle of fingers, THE TWO under my pointer finger knuckle, and one on the right side of my pointer finger knuckle...plus more that have faded.)

The two big cuts :)

Other than all of my battle wounds, school is great. I am trying my hardest to get ahead and graduate before this little mini me pops out. Every month we have a grid of 60 things to get passed off, as of yesterday, I got my May grid! I was the first one to get it, but there are two others who are close behind. Pretty much everyone else just goes month to month, but I thrive off of being ahead. I also have 915 hours, 75 hours away from being half way done with school! Starting next week I will go to two nights of night school so I can graduate in time. In school we just finished a Hunger Games competition, where we had to recreate a character from the books. My model was Hayley Hucks, we met back at Rocklin High, but school brought us both to Utah. I did her up as a Capitol person.

I've also been working on my portfolio. I have been taking a lot of before and after pictures. I think Elise said for me to NEVER use this picture, but I can't remember.... ;) Here is her before and after.
(keep in mind I needed her to look like death for the before, she is much prettier in person! The after is with hair curled, make-up done, by me, and a new wedding dress, all for her friends photo shoot.)

Today I did a color and cut on a lady who was awesome. She had ethnic hair that was about 4 inches past her shoulders and when it came time to cut it, she told me I could do whatever. It was so much fun! Since she had horrid split ends, I cut almost 3 inches off, then gave her short shaggy layers, and cute little bangs. I also sold her product and she gave me a $10 tip! She was the best client, and it was my first time doing ethnic hair. I tried to just corn row it all and skip the cut, but as a professional sales woman she wasn't feelin' it. She told me, with her new style she felt young and pretty again and wanted to take her husband on a date tonight!! That's why I do hair, even if I have to recreate a cut. ;)

Just Call Me Kaitlin

First of all...HAHAHA, let's all admit that's a clever title. (mom, calm down....it's not like Kaitlin will be reading this).
So I have this sister, she is 12, loud, annoying, funny, beautiful, weird, smart, and she is the center of our family. Her name is Kaitlin. She has Cerebral Palsy, but we all think she is faking it so she gets out of chores and using the toilet. Kaitlin is the best person to talk to, she will never talk back, she will never tell your secrets, and as long as you yell, she will always laugh at your jokes. She can take a punch, a prank, and she can down a whole casserole. She can't run, talk, read, or pick out her outfits, and she definitely won't be joining any spelling bee's. However, in my eyes, she is beyond perfect. I love the way she laughs at nothing, I love her smile, I love that music and Disney movies are all she needs, I love that she gets to wear sweats and sweat shirts all day, I love that every day she grows and surprises us all. I love the silly boy hair cut I gave her, I love how she demands a piggy back ride down the stairs, I love that she has us all wrapped around her finger (it's something i'm still working on with our family). Basically, I love Kaitlin. When trouble is near, Kaitlin brings the family together. With all of that said, she is still handicapped. Sometimes I wonder how much of this was passed through the generations before it hit her. I'm pretty sure Kaitlin and I are on the same level when it comes to math and spelling, maybe a few other things. I'm not putting myself down, because I love who I am, and how my life is going, but let's just think about this...
-I have the attention span of a dog who just saw a squirrel
-Common sense is lacking
-I can't spell
-And I have a tendency to say some silly things

Like when I biffed it on the tread mill yesterday, walking two miles per hour. Or when I read an ad on my phone that said "Buy a Car With Bad Credit" and I thought, who wants a car with bad credit? Then I realized people are the ones with bad credit. It's fine....I figured it out and laughed about it later. How about when Frank and I played Catch Phrase, he said "they do this on wall street" I said "make journals". Or how about tonight when I told Frank that the background of this blog is dragonflies. So pretty much, although I can put my own clothes on, eat my own food, and drive, you can just call me Kaitlin.

21 Years Young

A lot has changed in the past few days. With my 21st birthday just around the corner I realized things were changing. I grew up a raspy voice kid, a weirdo, very dependent and a mooch. I've traveled a lot of the world, I've attending many schools trying to find myself, I have my temple marriage and my prince charming, I'm in beauty school, and now I am 10 weeks pregnant. I not only LOVE change, but I embrace it. I'm the type to pack up and move across the country in a seconds notice. I can't stand having the same look for more than a few months. I hate animals, especially my families prize possession, Diesel, who ate my cat. I wish I could quit In-N-Out so I can paint my nails, and dye my hair fun colors.
Life comes with a lot of restrictions, but I've always lived life my own way. My mom and husband can attest to the fact that I think rules and laws apply to everyone but me. So now with a new chapter of my life, I am weirdly handling things well. It was a shock/exciting finding out I was pregnant, and we saw it coming but it was a harsh reality when Frank got laid off. Life is a puzzle, and when I put it all together I need a new me. So yesterday I got a fresh look, a spray tan and a new hair color, dark red. For the first time I was called a red-head! I've had more complements in the past two days then I have in years. I feel great with who I am, and where I am in life. I am so happy to have my little baby on the way and my amazing husband.

My pregnancy is going well so far. Last week was my roughest week, I threw up twice at school. Nothing like tasting your breakfast twice! My nausea is pretty much gone, which I love. I don't really crave things, I just see something yummy and I want it immediately. One night at home, Megan and I ate bacon, pickles, and pancakes for dinner = delicious! Megan needs to come live with me because it was so nice having her help. Frank thinks I'm just lazy (maybe I am, maybe I am not), and sometimes I can hardly get him to bring me a glass of water. There are husbands out there with no legs or arms, who would roll around to bring their pregnant wives water. I think being an only child makes things hard for him when it comes to understanding being pregnant, and what to do with kids. He never saw his mom go through a pregnancy and he never had a brother or sister to grow up with. (I think Frank got a sneak peak of my blog because he just poured me a glass of water.) Don't get me wrong, Frank does a TON around here, I just secretly wish he would do everything so I can sleep until September. He thinks it's making me a better person and stronger when I do things for myself. I think after being at school from 8-5 and work from 6-11pm I should do nothing. So I guess this is new for the both of us, and I can't wait to see what life has in store for us.

Here are some pics of my belly and my new hair color :)

 

PS: My b-day is Feb. 19th, I will accept cash, checks and presents through the mail. :)

My Little Dragon Baby

And by "my" I guess I mean "our" little dragon baby. We call it dragon baby because Gail, Frank's mom, pointed out that it will be born in the year of the dragon. So far I am one of the lucky ones (knock on wood), I do not get morning sickness. I just get nauseous throughout the day. I noticed if I snack often I feel better, or when I get nauseous I hurry and eat, better to come out one end then the other. The past few days my body has been swollen, I look like Violet off Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory after she blows up like a blueberry. I try to put my feet up and drink lots of water but I have days where I am in school from 8:30am-5pm then I work 6pm-12am. By the time I get home I have no ankles, and I can't even twist the rings on my fingers. So basically, I look and feel awesome. What a "joy" it is to not be able to button your work pants, so you just tighten your belt, to have your socks leave indents on what used to be an ankle, and have everyone stare at you like "is she pregnant or just fat?" People, people, people....I mean honestly, I'm still not seeing the joys of pregnancy. I just want to not look awkwardly fat, and to feel my dragon baby. It still seems so weird and unreal that there is a little one-inch baby growing inside of me. If I could have an ultra sound daily I might be more convinced, but once a month...idk. Of course I've always known where babies come from, but when you're the one carrying it's just straight up goofy. Maybe I just need to hurry up and get proof that it's the little girl I want, buy cute little baby stuff, then I will be convinced. If it's a boy, I will be just as excited, I just might want to pretend for a week or so and put cute bows on his head and those adorable ballerina socks on him. It will defiantly be done while Frank is at work of course, but I won't go over board and make a photo shoot out of it, although....jk. I don't want my son to grow up and see pictures of a goofy looking girl, then instead of admitting I put him in girl clothes, I would have to tell him he had a sister who died. Anyways, I digress...I found out if I go to night school twice a week I can graduate in July. If I go once a week I can graduate the first week of August, otherwise I pretty much won't graduate in time. It's very hard for me to be at school from 8:30am-10pm, it gets super boring if you don't get a single client. So I am trying my best, luckily for me I have an amazing friend Jo who has a one year old girl and is a stay at home mom. She has offered to watch my baby while I am at school, if it comes down to it. There is a girl at my school who had to go on bed rest and now that she has had her baby, she has to come back and finish three weeks of school so she can graduate. I'm crossing my fingers that that is not going to be me!  
With all of that said, here is our first picture of our cute little dragon baby. It looks more like a tadpole right now with it's body on the left and it stretching it's two legs out.

Baby Rap Slap

My last blog in China was pretty good, but I felt it was my raps that made it fun and intriguing. Sometimes when I drive, I just get in the mood to rap, this is what I came up with on my way to the Chiropractor:

It started out with, well you know what

I grew a bubble, I’m not talking about my butt

Nauseous and sick

I knew I had to pee on that stick

When those two lines appeared

I saw my future disappear

Don’t get me wrong

I’ve always dreamt of being a mom

But now a bun in the oven,

One baby girl, I gotta give some lovin’

I’ve got to exercise and start to eat right

That was already a struggle, a pain, a fight

Striving to be that model type girl

I could never bring myself to do it, not even one hurl

But when it comes down to my baby

I’ll put down that extra gravy

Because I’m going to be that ideal mom

Even though I’m only 7 weeks along

So far you’ve made me fat and sick

And with a tude like no other, I’m sort of a prick

I’m still in school and I’m working nights

I should be on the couch; I need to fight for my rights

When I saw that I was late

I feared I wouldn’t graduate

All work and no play

That’s the mindset that has to stay