Live Simply.

New Blog

2007-10-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

because of the current frustration with blogger and how the template is driving me insane, i've decided to switch over to wordpress.

click here (www.gloriajhsu.wordpress.com)

see you on the new site!

some Starbucks time

2007-10-03T22:20:00.001-07:00

George & mel came over after work to hang out. We met up with my sister (who needed to write a paper) at starbucks. We played for an hour and a half of mario cart! Crazy!! poor sister had to write her paper so she couldn't play...

a night of good competitive fun

Deadlines

2007-10-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

so today i had this thought while doing my daily blog surfing that deadlines are a good thing. It it so easy for me to put things off and not "think" about them until it's a more convenient time that eventually, I never really get to do or process things that are important. Deadlines help push me to be more intentional with my time everyday. I live off making lists of things to do or note to self. The process of crossing things off after finishing tasks leaves me with a reminder of a productive day.

So whether it be a book to read, a room to clean, a big decision to make, a dream to pursue, a project to start and complete or an appointment you really don't want to make but know you should, deadlines help. they are a good thing.

Here are some deadlines I made for myself:

make an appointment to see the dentist by 12/31/07
clean my scrapbook room by 10/04/07
decide about joining Vision this year by 10/07/07
scrapbook this week

the 'tasks' program on my phone keeps me on top of the things I need to remember...

I remember in Harry Potter, Dumbledore had this pool of thoughts that he goes to. He takes out his thoughts and puts them into the pool so that he can have room to store more thoughts and not be afraid to forget the old thoughts. That's so why I use things like the 'tasks' program on my phone, why I blog & journal, why I take pictures. That way I have a place to store these memories and make room for daily incoming thoughts and memories with people.

A nice fountain

2007-10-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

a fun day together

In class...

2007-10-02T12:38:00.001-07:00

It's funny how she brings her laptop to school but her laptop doesn't have the word application to take notes on.

A surprise visit from...

2007-10-02T12:17:00.001-07:00

Break time

2007-10-02T12:03:00.001-07:00

Break time (between her english and philosophy) = DS time, Robeks (their version of jamba juice), Yoga Journal and my sister checking facebook on her laptop every now and then

A day in the day of na

2007-10-02T11:48:00.001-07:00

this is me following my sister through a day in her life...

Things to look forward to

2007-10-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Christmas music has been playing in my car for about 2 weeks now. I skip Halloween & Thanksgiving and start the season after Labor day.
maybe a real christmas tree this year?
Debating on if i should have a nice & small christmas party this year or big and fun one
Snowboarding season... gonna try to hit the slopes as much as I can this season to make up for not boarding at all last season
our place that will eventually be nice, neat & organized
scrapbooking again
taking pictures again
Disneyland. (i REALLY can't wait for this one! i miss it SO much!!)
finding time to journal and connect with God
do some yoga instead of just reading about it
keep focus on training for the Triathlon.

wow... there's a lot to look forward to. Thanks for such a fulfilled life, God.

What does D.S. stand for?

2007-09-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

New gift from my sister, georgie and mel for my birthday. We played mario cart after church together and it was tons of fun. I LOVE the black carrying case with red stitch trims. It matches my phone too! i think i have a thing for red. or more maroon red. love it. (thanks you guys! i heart you) Now when Mike plays Madden... i can play on the ds!

At night, I met up with the roommates again for dinner at Grand Lux Cafe. I had my camera in my bag and everything, but when the food came, I totally forgot to take pictures. So I told myself that I'll at least get a picture of the dessert. Nope. forgot about that too.

The Baileys Coffee was really good and the Cajun Rib Eye was alright. I probably enjoyed the fries more (when do I not?). I really think they should have a french fries restaurant serving all different types of fries with all different types of seasoning & dipping sauce. YUM! i love fries.

Baked potato night!

2007-09-28T20:29:00.001-07:00

We had this huge sack of potatoes from costco that we couldn't finish... So we called up my family and pam to come over for a 'baked potato night'. It was sooo yummy. Now we're so carb-ed out and really to sleep.

It's Official.

2007-09-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

vs.

Sunday, December 16th... 1 something pm
4th row on at the 40 yard line - colts side

it's exciting.

I hope we don't get killed by raider fans... they seem kinda... passionate.

maybe i'll get to shake Tony Dungy's hand. that would be awesome.

First picture with canon sd 750

2007-09-28T15:19:00.001-07:00

the camera came! not a very fun picture, but it's the first test shot. more pictures to follow. yay!

2007-09-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

So I know Mike thinks it's ridiculous that I wanted another camera after I told him that once I get my xti, I wouldn't get another camera for another like 10 years (or however long my xti lives for... I tried to convince him with analogies like it's the same as him having 5 guitars or having madden '06, '07 & '08 - he doesn't think it's the same)... but 2 things happened since...

my sister lost my small camera (so she offered to pay for a new one for me)
people tend to look at me weird when I bring my xti to restaurants and I really like taking pictures of food. (gotta remember if the meal was good enough to go back to try other things, right?)

So that brings me to getting the canon (gotta stay with the same brand) SD 750. The 3 inch LCD screen got me. The really cool thing is that it uses a SD card and my treo uses a mini SD card. The mini SD card comes with a adapter thing that converts the mini SD to a regular SD. That means.... I can use the same SD card to take pictures and upload & blog from my phone! So now, I can remember my everyday with words and pictures.

I was never sure how much I wanted to write on this blog and what this blog was meant for... I don't really know who reads this or if anyone reads this at all. I do know that when I re-read what I've posted before, I get a rush of memories for that particular day and that particular moment. I love that. So I decided this blog will be a place for the following things:

to remember my daily events & thoughts
pictures, photography, and more pictures
to share everything scrapbook related
to use the journaling on these posts for my scrapbook pages
to improve my writing skills

so now when I don't remember why I'm blogging... I can look back and blog with reason.

my talented sister doing one of her many jumps

This is how I want to live my life

2007-09-26T16:35:00.000-07:00

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.
Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.
Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.

And on my actual birthday...

2007-09-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

The original plan for today was to go to the LA Fair, eat lots of food and take lots of pictures. I even ordered my lens to arrive by Monday so that I can have it in time to go take pictures at the fair.... but we found out later that the fair is closed on mondays and tuesdays. BOOOO! so mike decided to bbq for lunch.

We stayed home majority of the day eating the delicious ribs and watching a dvd (school of rock). took our time to get ready and headed down to cerritos/lakewood area for dinner. We had some time to kill so we ended up at the cerritos mall and watched Rush Hour 3.

After the movie... we went to Joe's Sushi! =) i heart sushi

The crazy thing is that the party isn't over yet. I have carrot cake to look forward to on Thursday with people at work and something fun with the roommates sometime next week?

I am beyond blessed to have awesome people that shower me with love. I didn't think turning 25 was that big of a deal, but it turned out to be a big celebration.

Thank you for all the facebook comments, the text messages, the hugs, the phone calls, the dinners, the drinks, the memories that were created this past weekend.

Happy Birthday, Bryan & Brandon

2007-09-17T21:53:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day... today is my cousins Bryan & Brandon's 13th birthday!!! Wow... they are finally teens. When I saw them in April, I forgot that they were only 12... i kept thinking they were 17, getting ready for college. They are probably way taller than me now, and more stressed with school in Singapore =)

Boys, if you are reading this... I hope you got my SMS. "Happy birthday!!" Hope you had an awesome birthday today. We love you TONS and TONS and wish you a very blessed year ahead.

I went to work, my sister didn't make it to school cos she got a stye in her eye... so she came to the cafe to do her work. after work, we went to old town to shop around urban and forever but didn't get anything but 2 necklaces. She had a doctor's appointment at 4, so we didn't have time to really shop at any other places.

It's funny how it ended up to be a family affair. My parents ended up showing up at the hospital /clinic too. My dad and I waited outside (and instead of talked to each other, we texted each other with our phones... my dad is obsessed with his phone) while my mom went in to see the doctor with my sister.

My mom convinced me to go to dinner with the family at Yasmin... but I needed to make another costco run with my sister. So after shopping at costco with my sister, we went home to pick up mike and headed over to another yummy dinner.

We feasted and went home to watch "what a girl wants" {my favorite movie}

more fun and good food

2007-09-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

so i slept in cos by the time i showered and slept, it was after 4am. Mike got to watch the colts game at 10am so it worked out well for both of us. =)

it was a relaxing day of just sleeping and sleeping... (SO needed it after a late night and the 5 miles) at 4pm we left to go to Brian's birthday bbq. That was a lot of fun. Got to chat with some people there and eat more good food. Even tho I slept all day, I was still really tired... so we went home around 9 (i think)

I'm hip, I'm young..

2007-09-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

7:00am - wake up
7:15am - leave the house
7:45am - arrive at Jeymi's house
7:55am - leave Jeymi's house
8:15amish - jeymi (or was it sean?) receives a call saying that they require all runners to be doing 12 min/mile {are they freaking kidding me?!?!? damn it, we're going to be the last ones and the police will have to escort us to the finish line cos we can't run 12 min/miles!!!}
8:50amish - arrive at the starting point {oh my goodness, i've never seen so many people wanting to run in my life!}
9:00am - BEGIN the NIKE RUN HIT REMIX
9:05am - crossed the starting line
9: 20am - finished mile 1 {damn it! 4 more to go!!! - ok, let's walk one light and run one light}
... after walking more lights than running the lights.... a jamba juice stop...
10:35 ish - crossed the finish line!

after the race, we got our medal, banana, water, sports bar and headed to alcove for some breakfast/coffee

That was just the beginning of my day.

I went home, found my parents there and after having my mom cook me scramble eggs... we went to get a foot massage. ($15/hr) totally needed it =)

Went home and napped for 30 mins before Mike came home from hanging out with his friends. Got ready for the night and headed out to dinner at the boiling crab in Alhambra.

Thank You gerogie, lover, fat, charlene, sister, neh, freak, june, singer, koj, pam, sandra, andrew, jeffery, and mike for coming out to dinner. It was some awesome seafood. very yum!

After dinner and a MASSIVE mango cake from lover, we headed over to J Lounge in LA. The club was cool... really really crowded. DJ wasn't so hot... but it was fun. good company, fun times =)

thanks for the pictures josh!

The night ended with everyone meeting at the beloved K.T Cafe for some good lemon ice tea. Got home at 3:30am... I have not done that in SO LONG!

The feasting begins

2007-09-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

My family went to Manna (all you can eat korean bbq) for dinner. My parents have not been there before and Mike & I were craving korean bbq, so I thought it was a good reason to go and pig out! It was very very good... thank goodness I was going to walking 5 miles the very next morning.

a simple prayer

2007-09-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

Lord, not my will, but your will be done

My Saturday

2007-09-08T14:55:00.001-07:00

Today i...
- went to F3 to volunteer
- hung out at the cafe
- worked 4 hours at the cafe
- read magazines
- drank coffee
- bothered my sister as she tried to do her math homework

Latte that smiles

2007-09-08T12:45:00.001-07:00

there's art in making lattes at work

Dessert

2007-09-07T22:09:00.001-07:00

Gotta end the night with my favorite dessert (coffee and taramisu)

fun night of catching up, laughing at each other and tons of food... a typical night out with these girls.

Girls night out

2007-09-07T21:02:00.001-07:00

Magnolia on hollywood & vine

some good stuff today

2007-09-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

The Colts Won! Picture Taken Super Bowl XLI (2006)
Mike cooked up some awesome rib-eye steak, potato salad, corn on the cob, fresh gauc, chicken wings. I'm so full.
I ordered this kit. one of my many birthday presents from Mike. (Everything I bought since August has been "for my birthday") For my next trip, I'm determined to scrap it. can't wait to get my very first kit.
good stuff yesterday: walked once around the rose bowl yesterday with Erin and my sister. totally do-able. good pace... can't wait to do it again =)

A VERY hot day at Sea World

2007-08-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

We got to feed the dolphins!! It was a lot of fun... Now I want to bring one home with me. It's so hot here... We're both sun burned. Me more so than mike. We're trying to stay cool and shaded as we wait for shamu rocks at 7:30. It's been a fun day so far :)

Step 1

2007-08-25T22:29:00.001-07:00

Today, I bought the tool (with a 30% coupon - whoo hooo!) that will help me get started on training for the triathlon. It took me a while to decide if this is what I really want to do... but I decided to go for it and see where it takes me. I should be able to warm up with the Nike Run Hit Remix. Something fun the roommates & I will get to do together in September. it's about time i get my lazy couch potato butt up and do something about myself. I found this training guide to help get myself to run the 3 miles in 7 months.

I also got to do a little shopping with my sister at Target. They had a pretty good sale on clothes there... so we scored a couple tops and dresses. After target, we dropped by fosselman's ice cream for some yummy rum raisin. I also volunteered in the morning and had some "glo time" after at the cafe. I was advised to stay off coffee until my text on Wednesday. It's suppose to help me be less anxious. I'm going to give it a try. The thought of not having my cup of coffee in the morning already puts me in a bad mood... but i would like to be as less anxious as possible this week leading up to the GRE.

Tomorrow... we go to sea world!!! {I love San Diego... such a nice city. I think I would love to live in either San Diego or Pasadena if we stay in So. California.} We bought tickets to go there earlier in june to celebrate our anniversary... and this summer they have the buy one get one free ticket deal... so we wanna go back before their summer shows end. It should be fun.... a good way to end a fun weekend.

2007-08-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

Things to do...

2007-08-16T11:19:00.001-07:00

in the mist of the stress of studying and applying to school again... i made a list of things i would like to do before this summer ends. How many of it will i really get to do? i have no clue. we'll just wait and see...

this week started out pretty 'eh'. i tend to dwell on the negative emotions more than the positives... i'm such an Eeyore. things need to change. as crazy as things are... there has been so much positives this week...

- volunteering has been a really good experience so far... it's been so interesting meeting different kids with different things they need to work on. the therapists at the clinic are all really friendly. i get to ask questions and learn the different ways they do therapy. it totally opened my eyes to why i want to pursue this career again.

- mike has been so patient, caring and supportive. he truly is my biggest fan. he's assured me over and over again that i can do this and i'm capable of it... he's the best.

- i had a really good conversation with my sister over dinner this week. i really like hanging out with her. we have so much to talk, vent and laugh about. i'm going miss having her around when she goes back to school

- i'm blessed to have a job that let's me be creative. i'm also blessed to have awesome co workers at work to hang out and chat with.... coffee to drink as i please... and be inspired to create for 20 hours a week. i'm thinking of investing in digital kits to scrapbook and do more hybrid scrapping.

- i have great friends who pray for me, care for me, and love me for me.

it really hasn't been all bad... i need to just be more positive and remember the good things in life too.

** i miss you, maija! let's get some lunch together soon. i'll call you **

GRE

2007-08-15T12:32:00.001-07:00

it's one of those days...

2007-08-13T17:06:00.001-07:00

it's one of those days where things don't go the way you want it to... you waste time at the sprint store trying to get them to fix your phone when there was really nothing wrong with it in the first place.

It's one of those days where the alarm isn't working so you can't set it and should stay at home instead of go out.

It's one of those days that you just set your schedule for the next 4 weeks and it's INSANELY packed with work, volunteer and GRE studying...

It's one of those days where you really should be studying for the GRE but rather do anything else but study

It's one of those days that you just feel really overwhelmed by everything and want to sleep and not wake up for a month of so.

it's one of those days.

happy hour

2007-08-10T18:27:00.001-07:00

i'm so full.

Saying Goodbye

2007-08-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

i hate saying goodbye.... especially to people that i admire, love, am inspired by and care for. It's already been done twice this summer and probably one more time before this year ends.

Working at Fuller is probably one of the best decisions I've made in the last 12 months. I got to learn about coffee... but more than just coffee, I learned how art is incorporated in what we do at the cafe. I learned that it takes so much hard work for the farmers to individually pick out the coffee beans that we enjoy everyday and how important it is for us to support them by drinking fair trade coffee. I learned that as much as the people I work with love coffee and tea, they also love God's creation and His people. The cafe counter was a magical place. There, we shared our life struggles, our questions, our doubts, our frustrations, our stories, our solutions... we shared moments of breaking news (like Maija being pregnant), hugs, high-fives after rushes, and most importantly, we shared community.

Earlier this summer, I had to say good bye to Alisia, Derek and Emi. There was something about Alisia that drew me to her. I was always so inspired to clean and be organize every time I work with her. She inspired me to do my best at everything. Taking over her position at work started out to be overwhelming... but I'm slowly catching on. Every time I look at the chickens on the top of my computer screen, I'm reminded of her. =)

This past week, I had to say good bye to Dave, Betsy and JJ. 3 awesome people that have blessed and inspired me more than they know. I have NEVER in my life had such a cool manager. Rarely was he "Dave - the cafe manager"... he was mostly "Dave - the cool guy that we blamed every thing on" I was so inspired by our conversations behind the counter about how to live our every day life as church. I love how much he loved his family and how committed he was to them. Betsy is an amazing women. I remember once we were talking about the topic of making money and as this family is preparing to do missions overseas, she looks at me and shrugs, "we have the rest of our lives to make money.. that can wait"

I've been struggling this year to redefine myself. To really see what my core values and goals are in life. To see what I'm about... and the past year... I've learned that there ARE people in this world that HAVE the opportunity to be rich or wealthy or even just financially stable, but give that up to serve God and His people. Those people inspire me. To not just SAY they follow Christ... but really sacrificially follow Christ.... that blows me away!

My whole life has been about material things. It has been about defining success as the world defines it. It has been about choosing my own path and dreams instead of obeying God's path for me. It has been about living extravagantly when I strive to live simply. It's almost like the core of who I want to be was being suppressed by this overwhelming race to keep up with others.

Saying good bye is hard and painful. It's hard to say good bye to good friends that move away and it's even harder to say good bye to a lifestyle you're so use to but want to change so badly. I don't claim to be able to do it on my own... but I do want to try. I want to be less superficial and more intentional with my friendships. I want to hope for people instead of condemning them. I want to strive for simplicity instead of extravagance. I want to follow my core being instead of conforming to who/what society thinks I should be or value.

So to my friends that I had to say good bye to recently.... I'm excited for the adventure God's taking you and your family on. The people that I'm so sure you'll bless and inspire (as you have done for me) along your life journey and the stories & memories you'll have to share with us when we meet again... and thank you, for making a difference in my life.

daily something

2007-08-08T17:30:00.001-07:00

messy spirituality

2007-08-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

'' it's amazing how few of us believe in the unqualified grace of God. oh yes, God loves us, as long as we're clean and whole and fixed. but it turns out that what disqualifies you and me from "spirituality" - the mess of our lives and our cripppledness - is what most qualifies us to be chosen by Jesus."

Sunday Afternoon

2007-08-05T15:35:00.001-07:00

being lazy. resting. napping. hanging out in the pool. bachelor party. fun with close friends. nfl network. surfing the web on a 24in iMac.

Hosanna

2007-08-03T15:22:00.001-07:00

I see the king of glory
Coming down the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

The Scotts

2007-08-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

We spent about 3 or 4 hours just running around fuller campus taking pictures on a friday afternoon. It was TONS of fun. JJ was SOOO good at smiling big for me almost everytime we asked. here are my favorites =)

on the go

2007-08-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

my first post from my new phone. it's great to not have to try to remember everything I wanna post cos I don't have my laptop with me or don't have internet connection... now I can post as i'm walking to the bank or sitting at the cafe.

got to watch Harry Potter yesterday and thought it was good but the story line got really dark. i'm not sure if i'll be so excited to watch the last 2 movies. we'll see.

I got to spend a couple hours wit The Scotts last friday taking pictures of them on Fuller campus so that they'll remember this place after they leave next week. can't post up pictures from my phone (boooo) but i'll do it later when I take a break from work. :)

wow... wrote all of this walking to the bank. I heart this phone plan with Sprint.

Today I...

2007-07-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

had georgie over for lunch
got a slurpeee
sneaked in 2 hours of scrapbooking with Erin (it felt sooo good to scrap again)
had korean tofu & beard papa's with Tiff & Darren
enjoyed good times with good company

Today I am...

2007-07-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

inspired by Tiff Chin's book for Allen to blog on a daily basis... especially when big events happen so that I can make a book on blurb
going to watch No Reservation (compliments of georgie)
had fec arcadia's college people over to some bbq and mario party 8
deciding on what picture i should submit for a photo contest
itching to scrapbook

More than just coffee...

2007-07-20T16:25:00.001-07:00

Working at the cafe has really taught me a lot about caring for the environment. Now that i'm doing the marketing... I get to make signs that help educate our customers that come in on what we do to help the environment as a cafe. Customer or employee, it really is more than just coffee here.

Maija's Baby Shower

2007-07-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

Here's the last batch of pictures that I haven't posted on the blog. I feel caught up on pictures now that I posted this batch.

I want to say "Thanks!" to everyone that have commented on my blog or have told me in person how much they appreciate my photos. You have no idea how much that means to me. I love being able to capture memories and knowing that I do it well makes my day =) I have another photo batch to come next week when I get to take more pictures of Betsy, Dave and JJ!

ok really, can he get any cuter?!

2007-07-14T23:48:00.000-07:00

i love that he calls me 'doe'
i love that when i first met him, he was barely crawling and now he runs around in his orange crocs
awesome people. incredible parents.
seeing betsy with jj makes me wanna have kids
with them i see that having kids doesn't mean that your life is over and your marriage is not fun anymore. everyday is a new adventure
i love that dave admires both his wife and son more than anything
i hope jj remembers me as he grows older. the boy is such a good kid. he's so loved by everyone at fuller
i love that i get to play with jj and take him to the big playground (dee doo) and he'll explore it like it's his first time there
this family is going to touch many more lives. as they journey on the path God has set out for them, i'm so sure that the people they meet will be blessed by them.

Emi at 3 Months

2007-07-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

I got to take some pictures of this beautiful baby girl before Alisia and Derek HAD to move back to florida. I miss them. (if you're reading this, you need to start a blog!) I took tons of pictures of Emi and with every picture, she got cuter and cuter. I never like to say good bye (and it seems like I'll have to say it more than once this summer). Working at fuller has really been such a blessing. I got to meet some of the coolest people EVER. They have inspired me to become a better person and to care about others.

I've been taking lots of pictures and not doing enough scrapping. I miss it. I need to do more of it. There's so much more that I wanna blog about, but it's time to wake Mike up to go to Darren & Tiff's engagement dinner. I have another set of pictures to post from Maija's baby shower and some pictures of JJ (another family I DO NOT want to say bye to this summer). Maybe i'll get more stuff up tonight.... pictures, thoughts, update on my life.... all the good stuff =)

Mike's Birthday

2007-07-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

Cooked up a HUGE breakfast at home
Had lunch with steph at Lucious Dumplings
California Science Museum
Malibu Beach
Gladstones

The day turned out quite well and it didn't cost too much. The Museum was fun but too crowded... we wanna go back to visit the other museums next door. They were all free to get in... just gotta pay $6 for parking. Not bad cos we can entertain ourselves all day there. Gladstones was wonderful. We feasted and played all day... Dinner only cost us about $20 cos we had a gift card there given by my wonderful roommates for our first year anniversary. It was great!

I'm so extremely blessed to have such an awesome partner in life. He's not just my husband, but my best friend. It can't get better then that! So happy birthday, sweetie. I love you more than you can EVER imagine.

777

2007-07-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

PH
bath tub filled with alcohol
Tao
Wynn Buffet
rubbing annie's butt for good luck
Hana winning at roulette
swimming and tanning in 120 degree heat
playing slot roulette
Denny's after Tao
being ready first and not knowing what to do with myself while the others get ready
more pictures

Pictures are Fun

2007-07-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

A week ago, I got to hang out with maija & tim at malibu. The beach is BEAU-TI-FUL there. Got to take some cool pictures of them and capture the memory of them being pregnant with their first son! (whooo hoo! i can't wait to meet the baby)

Beautiful couple and I bet he'll be a BEAU-TI-FUL baby.

It was also fun to drive there and back with my sister. It was a good time to catch up on the week. Even though she's living with me right now, I barely see her because of school and work. I'm going to miss her when she goes on tour with vision... but that experience will be so good for her.

Well onto another week. Next batch of pictures will be on Baby Emi! yay!!

It feels good to be me

2007-06-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

The past 2 months has been really difficult to get myself to scrap. I actually just came to a point where I stopped scrapping. I would still look over inspirational blogs religiously, shopped for the latest products that I've been eying... yet I was still unable to get myself out of a slump. I became to focus my energy on photography and played more with my camera (which was fun) but I knew that at my very core and as important as photos are in the scrapbooking world.. my energy comes from creating art through paper.

I drove down with Erin to Carlsbad last Wednesday to meet the famous and amazing Ali Edwards. Our trip was exactly what I needed to reconnect with myself and my passion. We got to make stops along the way to different scrapbook stores that carried many cool things. (I didn't spend too much money cos I already bought a bunch of stuff a couple weeks before and haven't used any of it yet - but it's always inspiring to be around scrapbooking products) On the way there, I was also reminded that I should still give OT school another shot. I'm not entirely sure where I'll be in a year or two, but I do want to keep walking this path until God changes the direction.

Meeting Ali Edwards was... just... wow. I texted Mike when I first saw her walking around about how excited and nervous I was. I wanted to go up and introduce myself and just ask her a million questions... but when I finally got the courage to speak... I just told her how much I love her work (and I'm pretty sure I was stuttering through it all cos I couldn't believe I'm actually talk to her in PERSON!) Anyways... that night was so awesome. We got to see her personal scrapbooks, hear her stories and ask her questions. I walked away totally inspired to scrap and was reminded again that I needed to capture life and memories on an everyday basis. Ali has such a positive outlook on life, it makes me wanna be more optimistic about where I am now. She really isn't just a scrapbooker, she's a Life Artist. I love it.

Since then, I've been able to get myself going again. I've been scrapping, making cards, playing with my supplies and allowing myself to think outside the box. I've been dreaming and wanting to make my dreams a reality. I've been wanting to be more creative and loving the energy that comes with creativity. I've also had a better and more positive outlook on life... on wanting to make a difference in this world. To not just chase after the 'American dream' and forget that other's exist. I want to contribute and possibly influence others to be inspired to live their dreams. There are very exciting times ahead... We'll see how things unfold.

Let's Bring Sexy Back

2007-06-16T00:18:00.001-07:00

last weekend we went back for round 2 of the urban photo shoot in the alley at old town. It was a lot of fun.

to see it all... click here

Fun Family Shoot

2007-06-05T09:22:00.001-07:00

So we celebrated my sister's 19th birthday {i can't believe she's 19 years old} dinner at Buca in Old Town. Right when we came out of the parking lot, we walked into an alley and I thought it would be so much fun to just play around and take some pictures. It turned out to be such a fun photo shoot.

Everyone asks why George is always at our family dinners.... and well... he's family. He might not be blood related... but close enough.

Our 2 Year Wedding Anniversary

2007-06-04T23:25:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe it's been 2 years... time really flies. Tons of memories to record.

I'm loving it!

2007-06-04T23:07:00.001-07:00

I got to shop freely at SD on our anniversary trip and got the stuff I've been eyeing for a LONG TIME. Since a lot of these things are either too expensive locally that I can't bring myself to purchase them or the stores don't even carry them. I haven't been able to scrap in the last couple months... not sure why. Tonight, I unpacked everything and got organized. Maybe I'll actually get something started this week.

Missing Compassion

2007-05-22T21:58:00.001-07:00

The last 24 hours has been quite interesting. I realized that my mom was right all along about how the people you hang out with usually have big influences on you. I realized that the first step in being real was probably the hardest to take, but the most important step to take because now I can admit to where I'm really at and ask the questions I really have. The last 24 hours gave me a little bit of insight to who I want to be influenced by in regards to being a women, a christian, a wife, a friend... it got me to think about what kind of a person I wanted to me.

I realized that I wanted to be influenced by people that care about the world outside of just themselves. Outside of just chasing after a career, money or the "American Dream" they care about the world outside of their comfort zone. These people may not find the cure to Aids or minister to every single person in need... but they take steps towards it. Little steps. But nevertheless, steps towards making the world a better place. Not just because they want to be "good people" but because that's what Jesus would have done.

In the last 24 hours, I learned that somewhere along the way, I lost compassion for people. I forgot how to love like Jesus loves and what that even looks like. In the middle of my shift today, I got to be able to real with my cafe manager whom is also more a friend than a boss. Somewhere in trying to explain where I'm at... it hits me... more than anything, I need to have compassion like Jesus does. Cos there will always be a reason to find fault with the church or the christian leaders that lead the church because neither of them are perfect and they need compassion just as much... if not more.. than anyone else. Cos although not much makes sense to me right now, the times that it did make sense was when I was on my knees feeding a homeless child dinner after he had kick a rat around as a scoccer ball and seeing how much love that boy needed and how unfair it was for him to have to grow up without any basic needs. Cos compassion helped me love the unloveable and stopped me from judging those that I judge now.

The last 24 hours has been reassuring. It's giving me hope that I'm not a lost cause and God still sees something in me. Maybe it's not how the church needs to change... but how I need to change. Maybe it's not about what they aren't doing right... but how I need to have compassion like Jesus would have had compassion. Maybe church isn't just the building we go to on Sunday mornings or only when there's a set worship service. Maybe church is everyday, every minute. Maybe church is... life? that's crazy. Cos if it is... then it's not the pastors fault that things aren't going well... it's ours. Cos it's our life.

What if I tried to lived out compassion like Jesus did? What if I'm faster to love and forgive then to judge and condemn? What if I was real with people about where I'm at in life and what I struggle with? What if in that process, I get hurt? So many "what ifs" and not enough answers... I'm probably jumping ahead of myself. All I know right now is that I'm missing compassion in my life and I want... no, I need it back.

I want to love like Jesus loves.

My Happiness Today...

2007-05-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

a clean and spotless kitchen
a clean and spotless bathroom
a clean and spotless living room
laundry got done
cooking class at Sur La Table (yummy, healthy, easy to cook food)
Finding that the Farmers Market next to The Grove is really cool (and good for picture taking too)
taking lots of pictures of food
having the day off

Date Night at Mi Piace

2007-05-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

On the last weekend of April, Mike & I went over to in Old Town, Pasadena for dinner. Food was pretty good and the atmosphere was fun. I was totally craving food there after experiencing it for the first time a couple weeks before with Pam. We ordered a basket of garlic fries, Tiramisu and an Arnold Palmer beverage. That was good enough to make we wanna go back again for some real food.

This is me... now.

2007-05-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

I've been having quite a hard time getting my life back on track. My house is not as clean and organized as I would like it to be. I'm still fighting this cough that's making my organs sore every time I cough. I don't feel like I have the balance I strive to have in life... in other words, I don't feel like I have control of my life like I strive to have. It's been difficult to be motivated to keep up with the house chores. My bathroom needs some serious cleaning and only after being totally grossed out by my kitchen floor last night did I finally give in and 409 & swifter it.

Right now I'd be satisfied if I only got back my motivation to scrapbook. For some reason I think that if I can be creative again, things will slowly move back into place and I'll find balance in my life. Not much makes sense to me right now and surprisingly, work is the one thing I don't want to change. I like working part time at the cafe. I love the people I work with. I like that over there, I feel like I'm a part of a community. I like that it's comfortable there. I want that to stay consistent for as long as it can.

Maybe it's this virus we brought back from Asia with us, maybe it's not being accepted into USC and grieving through that rejection that has brought me to where I'm at today. I'm confused and lost. I'm not sure if OT is something I should really pursue. Is it worth putting myself out there again? Giving it my all again? Do I have it in me to give it my all the second time around? Do I want it bad enough? 6 months ago, it would have been without a doubt that I would... now... I'm not so sure. Not only am I not sure... I don't really want to find out. I just want life to keep going and for me to not have to deal with my future.

Today, my friend posted on her blog a link of a site that is promoting Autism Speaks. Five For Fighting made this song called "What Kind Of World Do You Want?" and people get to post videos they make and every time the video is played, they donate $0.49 to Autism Speaks. Watching those videos moved me. Hence this post. Did it move me enough to bust out my GRE books, email my professors for extra copies of letters of recommendations they wrote for me, arrange to volunteer or find a behaviour therapist job? Not yet... but it reminded me of why I wanted to get into that field. It reminded me that I wanted to make a difference in people's lives. It reminded me that although my relationship with God is no where to be found at this moment, I know He can still use me.

So in the end... where does this leave me? I'm not too sure. Maybe God will speak to me like He use to and it'll be clear. Maybe somewhere along the way, I'll find the motivation that I need to get through it. Maybe in the end, I'm suppose to do something completely different. Maybe.... the possibilities are endless... so we'll just leave it at Maybe.

My day at home

2007-05-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Staying home all day (literally) has been interesting. There's a few things I learned today...

I like watching "I Love Lucy"
TV from 1pm to 3pm is really not worth watching
I love watching "What I Like About You" (3pm-4pm)
"Reba" isn't half bad (4pm-5pm)
"My Wife and Kids" is pretty funny (5pm-5:30pm)

After staying at home all day with nothing much to do (except some laundry and dishes here and there) I think I'm ready to face the world again tomorrow. Being sick really is no fun. I think I have more energy now... still coughing up a lung every now and then, but my head stopped hurting and I'm not as congested as I was yesterday.

Shanghai 2007

2007-04-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

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Home

2007-04-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

Growing up, I moved a lot. The first 10 years of my life was spent all over the place... always moving... never really having a place that I called home. Eventually we settled down in Cerritos when I was in 4th grade and finally got to make friends longer than a year. But even then, it was hard for me to feel at home. I would always want to be back in Singapore when I was in LA and when I was in Singapore, I missed my friends in LA. Nothing really made me feel home. In college I moved out to Riverside, but came back to Cerritos every weekend... still then, I wasn't sure where I felt more at home. I don't think I really felt what 'home' was until last year.

After moving into our place in MPK, it took a while to get use to living in another city. A city filled with bad drivers, people with little or no customer service at restaurants and a lot more police sirens going off at night. It most definately did not feel like home the first year... but since then, I've be able to create a place for us to feel comfortable in. A place where I take responsiblity in cleaning and organizing and decorating. These days, I don't want to be away too long from home and when I get back from traveling/vacation/house sitting for co workers, I love the feeling of being home again. I love the feeling of sleeping in our own bed, showering in our own bathroom and watching TV on our own couch. It's a weird but good feeling.

There's no doubt a lot more decorating, cleaning and organizing I'd love to do to our home, but despite all of the things that aren't ideal for me about this place... it's home.... and I love it.

Singapore 2007

2007-04-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

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Although this trip felt way too short and rushed... we had a lot of fun hanging out with family, eating great food and traveled to Shanghai for a couple of days. I didn't record my memories as I planned... but the pictures will do. Here are some memories that my camera didn't capture:

playing 'sardines' in the dark with the kids.
visiting my grandfather's grave site (i can't believe it's been 10 years...)
riding bikes at the beach (and sweating like NO OTHER)
curry chicken and durain on the night we arrived (1 am in the morning)
spending a day in SHOCK at how big the twins got
watched 'meet the robinsons' with mike and the kids
watched 'wild hogs' with mike
took ben out shopping and to the arcade sunday afternoon
hanging out with my grandmother over coffee
being fed every hour (literally)
having good conversations with the twins

lots of good memories. can't wait for them to come in december...

Fun Shots of Jacob

2007-04-03T22:55:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to keep my camera close to me so I can take more daily pictures. I love taking pictures of this little guy. He's so much fun and is growing so HUGE every day.

Disneyland.. a couple weeks ago

2007-03-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

Mike and I spent a day at Disneyland a couple weeks ago and each time I go, I try to play with my camera more. It's such a cool place to take pictures cos there's SO MUCH to take pictures of. As colorful and animated as that place can be, it is also filled with so many unique things that can't been seen as common things in Los Angeles.

Countdown to Singapore: 13 more days.....

Tonight: Lush "party" & Scrapbook. I've been waiting for Friday to come all week =)

Salmon Baked in Foil

2007-03-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Recipe found on Food Network {search: salmon baked in foil}

My Friday Night

2007-03-25T17:51:00.001-07:00

Mike wanted to do some intense studying friday night so I went over to Erin's place to hang out and scrap. Like always, it's a lot of fun =) An evening of girl talking & scrapping can't go wrong!

I've been meaning to scrap this adorable boy but just couldn't get started. He is a favorite at the bookstore/cafe!

Fun At DCA

2007-03-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

A layout I did a while back but just finished the journaling today. Everyone in the picture has an annual pass to disneyland but we rarely go together. It was a fun day of hanging out at the parks and just creating good memories.

Mikria Day

2007-03-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

2007-03-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

Some Cards

2007-03-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

I've been running low on cards lately... so i decided to make a few more. It's nice to have extra cards around in case i'm busy the week of a birthday. I found some cool quotes that I want to use on my next batch of cards. Hopefully I'll get to scrapbook some pages this week instead of working on cards... although I do find it easier to scrapbook if I make a couple cards first to get myself going...

My Moleskin

2007-03-11T15:33:00.002-07:00

I wanted my moleskin to be a place where I can jolt down all my ideas for scrapbooking, photography, new places to visit, inspirational quotes, wishes, prayers, creative projects, to do lists.... A place where I can grow and be inspired.

A Good Day...

2007-03-08T22:39:00.001-08:00

Today was a good and productive day. I ran some errands and got to do a little bit of shopping at old town after dropping Mike off at work. My good friend (whom I can't name) recommended a seaweed facial mask at cos the weather has been quite dry lately. So I went and bought some... they threw in a few free samples to try too! I think we'll have a nice facial party tomorrow when my sister comes over (friend, you're welcome to join us if you're free)

I also got (amandopondo bubble bath) so I can enjoy a good bath after being on my feet at work. It helps me relax and motivated to be productive without complaining as much

After a couple more errands (bank, bought ink at staples... etc.) I came home and got creative. I haven't taken pictures of my projects yet... so I'll post them once I get around to it

I made some pasta for dinner (broccoli, shrimp, chicken in alfredo sauce) and it turned out quite well. {didn't take pictures of it tho }

Note To Self: Take more Pictures.

remember to blog...

2007-03-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

What have I been up to?

2007-03-02T15:33:00.000-08:00

The answer to that question is... just work? I've been fortunate enough to have an amazing husband that isn't pressuring me to work more than 20 hours a week so that I'll have time to do whatever I want (plus house work). Yet since I've sent my grad school applications in mid january, I really can't say I've done anything but work. Weeks fly by and before I know it, I'm already in March and waiting anxiously to see what the next couple of months hold for me.

So instead of just wasting this precious time away (cos, really, when am I ever going to ever have this time to work part time and do whatever I want with the rest of my time?!) I should really think about how I want to spend this time in my life.

here's what I've come up with:

spend more time blogging.

I think for a while I wasn't sure how I felt about the whole blogging business. It was a good way to communicate my thoughts and events of my life to the rest of the world that I don't necessary see or speak to often... but it seems so impersonal. I wasn't sure how much of myself I wanted to put on a blog... but I've decided to think of blogging as a way to not just communicate my thoughts and events of my life, but to also record memories. I like that. The recording memories... I'm all about recording memories

read the bible.

I received a RAK of a Picture Bible from a very generous person and it's changed my world. I've never been able to read the bible without getting bored but this picture bible is well... INTERESTING! Aside from having pictures it gives me the story without the crazy jumble language that I have to decode and try to understand what in the world was happening and to whom. I actually GET IT....which has been amazing because it's like a really good book I don't want to put down when I start reading. I'm reminded of all the old sunday school stories I've learned as a child and now I'm able to question and grow and deepen my faith by not just taking everything at face vaule. There are so many questions and I'm glad I'm surround by the people at work & mike to bounce my questions off of. It has pushed me to really try to understand this whole God business on another level. I Love It!

scrapbook/photography/art.

The passions of my life... I want to use this time to do more. I don't want to wake up on day as a full time student and say I wish I had more time to scrapbook when I can totally take advantage of the time now. I want to visit more museums, learn more photography skills, develop my style in scrapbooking…

travel.

I know this part needs money to accomplish... but somehow, someway... it'll get done.

get into music again. I miss loving music and having it compliment my life. I'm loving jazz and I think mike wants to go to a jazz club this month so that would be really fun. I'm hooked on Jason Mraz's I'm Yours and Jack Johnson's Better Together. We just watched Music & Lyrics that other day and I'm loving the single Way Back Into Love.
keep growing as a person.

I don’t want to stop learning new things or think up new ideas to better live out this life. I want to dream big and figure out how to make my dreams reality.

As crazy as things have been lately, God has been good. He’s been ever so faithful. I think it’s so cool to be able to look at all the blessings from God and see His hand at work in our lives.

Well see if I really carry out all these things in the time I have in this stage of my life… at least this entry will be a good reminder for me to look at of all the things I should be doing rather than just wondering where the time went. Time is a funny thing. It isn’t something you can get back and one it’s gone, it’s gone. It’s not something you can change and redo… just something you have to take advantage of the moment you realize how precious time is. I like to think that I capture time in every picture I take and every scrapbook page I create. I like to think that recording it down in my moleskin is another way to remember the event and thoughts and feelings that I had at that time. To me, that really is priceless.

oh, and we got the wii finally! Come over and play!

Better Together - Jack Johnson

2007-02-27T15:57:00.000-08:00

Way Back Into Love.

2007-02-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

I'm hooked on this song...

2007-02-22T09:45:00.000-08:00

Fosselman's Ice Cream

2007-02-12T14:24:00.001-08:00

Yum!

Mike's picture of me sleeping

2007-02-10T01:06:00.001-08:00

This is what a good night's sleep looks like in the morning =)

Superbowl Sunday

2007-02-10T01:04:00.001-08:00

Some girl time during the superbowl =)

2007-02-07T08:58:00.000-08:00

It's 12:19am and I'm surprised I'm not completely passed out after being on my feet all day. Do you ever get this feeling of wanting to write/journal but you don't cos there's too much you haven't written/journal about that you don't know where to start? I think that's how I've been feeling lately. Wanting to blog/journal but not actually writing anything down cos I dunno what to start writing about. Instead, I just read other people's blog over and over again hoping to find some kind of inspiration to get myself to blog about life.

This stage of my life would be called "waiting". Waiting to see what the next few years might look like. Waiting to see which school I'll end up in and when I'll end up going to school. Waiting to see which church we'll end up settling down at and what ministries we'll be involved in. Waiting to discover what it might take to be ready for a family and when it's ever a good time to have kids.

I realized that since I graduated from college, I haven't had time to really think or reflect about life. I don't ask questions and I don't seek answers. I miss those days. I wanna go back to ponder how life really works and try to figure out what being a Christian looks like. I don't wanna settle for just what I'm being told cos sometimes what I'm told doesn't make sense to me.

The other day I was looking back at pictures. I love pictures. They truly capture memories. I might not be able to bring back the past... but pictures are the next best thing.

Some memories really are priceless... so are friendships. It's not everyday you find friends that would drive fancy cars but have no problem eating seafood off a tray . Good memories of traveling to a city

without knowing where we'd end up or how much fun we'd have in one short weekend.
Sometimes it's those memories you wanna grow old remembering. It's those memories that you can keep talking about when you get together for dinners in your "mid twenties to late twenties."

I never thought I would be able to convince anyone to "just bring your toothbrush, we're leaving for vegas in 4 hours." Spontaneous trips like that are hard to come by.

Memories of playing hide-and-seek in the dark one night cos we were bored and didn't know what else to do. That was the best hide and seek game i've ever played.

Having a girls day out. Fun local adventures to our very own china town.

Memories that I clearly remember even if my husband doesn't think I do

I know things are different now and the past can't be the present... which in some ways is good cos i rather be married than "just friends"... but there's a part of me that resists growing up cos of those

memories of being carefree and living in the moment.
I'm thankful that even though the dynamics of some friendships are different now, some are so much better than before.

This friend of mine above told me once that I should do these kinda reminiscing when i'm old and grey and can't create any more memories... but I think remembering and being thankful for those good memories that were created help me see how much i've grown and puts life in perspective for me.

I'm so thankful for pictures.

I'm so thankful for good friends.

I'm thankful for the past.

But even after all this reminiscing... i realize that i'm more thankful for the present. I wouldn't have been who I am today without my past. It shaped me, molded me, pushed me to be better, stronger and helped me face reality. My present will one day be my past, and I'm sure I'll look back on it then and "remember the good times when..." but until then... I wanna soak in the present and create even more memories, take even more pictures so I can remind myself of... life.

Testing Out Flickr

2007-02-01T20:50:00.000-08:00

sb003.jpg
Originally uploaded by glowing4god@sbcglobal.net.

Here's a card I made a while back... pretty simple.

THE THOUGHTFUL THIRTY

2007-01-24T21:18:00.000-08:00

1. Give encouragement

2. Express thanks

3. Acknowledge others

4. Extend greetings

5. Give a compliment

6. Congratulate someone

7. Teach, give instructions

8. Offer words of comfort

9. Inspire others

10. Celebrate and cheer

11. Inquire, express interest

12. Mend relationships

13. Make others laugh

14. Show faith and trust

15. Share good news

16. Praise, honor, build up

17. Express caring

18. Show understanding and empathy

19. Give approval

20. Extend an invitation

21. Show courtesy and respect

22. Give advice and counsel

23. Apologize

24. Forgive

25. Offer to help

26. Tell the truth

27. Point out the good

28. Use terms of affection

29. Provide valuable information

30. Communicate love

Maybe I might be able to do one per day for the next 30 days.

Photo Memories

2007-01-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

Friday, January 5, 2007
He is THE cutest baby at Coffee By the Books. When things get stressful at the cafe, seeing JJ around makes it better. I'm going to miss this family when they move in June.

Friday, January 19, 2007
Played with Photoshop on this picture. I think I was wanting to take pictures of symbols & words that day. I do miss traveling... hence this picture.

Saturday, January 20, 2007
This picture was taken at Disneyland on Saturday night. I LOVE watching people swing dance on the weekends there. I love that they have people ALL ages. Toddlers to elderly that can barely walk go there to dance the night away. In this world where divorces are so common and staying in a marriage is an up hill battle, these old couples give me hope. I ask mike every time we go if he'll dance with me when we're old and grey and barely walking.

He's so silly

Mike's been itching to build something so we went to the Legos store in DT Disney and He got a set of Legos. At first I thought it was kinda silly, but it's actually kinda cool. He gets to build a fighter jet, a helicopter, and this ship thingy all in one set! He was very excited about it.

I'm so thankful for pictures. They totally capture every day memories that I get to look back on later. It's priceless.

My Last Couple Days...

2007-01-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

Thursday, December 28, 2006
I had lunch with Mel at Pho 79. After, we drove to Beverly Hills for some good stuff. Mmmm

Friday, December 29, 2006
Mike & I got tickets for Disney On Ice, but since he got sick... I went with my sister. We had a great time!

Saturday, December 29, 2006
Two Words: Beard Papa

Sunday, December 31, 2006
Disneyland: ESPN Zone... Colts won!

Happy New Year!

My Christmas Weekend

2006-12-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

My Christmas started Friday (We have Friday till after new years off) So guess where we went?
Friday, December 22, 2006

My picture of the day

of course there is Aladdin

... and it was Jeymi's birthday! (Korean BBQ... mmm)

Saturday, December 23, 2006
It was lots of fun getting together with friends for good food & fun games. Thanks for another good memory created.

Thanks for coming!

Sunday, December 24, 2006
We had our own sunday service at the park with a Bible, coffee, pastry, a camera and a football. It was awesome. I love being able to enjoy these simple pleasures of life.

Sunday Morning

Later on that afternoon, my parents, sister and georgie came over to have christmas dinner together. Mike BBQed some JUICY steak and my mom cooked curry. YUM!

Opening presents is always something to be happy about

Family is another thing to be happy about

Today, we're just relaxing. Watching football in bed and going out for a movie later. Can't get any better. I have a million and one things to be grateful for this year. All praise and glory be to God.

Merry Christmas

A sunday afternoon

2006-12-09T22:54:00.000-08:00

Let's Recap on the last month...

2006-12-02T10:35:00.000-08:00
Made a couple cards the other night scrapping with Erin (it's ALWAYS so fun to scrap with her) and these were my favorite... (first christmas card made for this season!)

Lately, we've been to disneyland as many times as we can to soak up the holiday spirit

Recently, the roommates had our annual game night! lots of fun! I can't believe it's been over 6 years now? so many memories...

One of our many date nights: Rainforest Cafe (DT disney)

Happiness is...

2006-11-15T11:00:00.000-08:00
I'm so productive when I scrap at Erin's... I usually get a couple cards done and get inspired to do a layout all in one sitting. Jeymi bought some really cool paper at the expo so I got to use some to make cards. It didn't need much embellishing since the paper did all the work. =)

Here's a layout of Erin & Donn's wedding rehearsal dinner. It's funny that this picture was taking on June 2 (getting ready for summer) and since I'm only scrapping it now... it has a very wintery feel to it.

In the mist of being busy...

2006-10-31T09:59:00.000-08:00
finding little pockets of time to scrap does my soul good. Made some cards with my friend Erin the other week and like always, she inspired me to do a page after making these cards.

I liked how this page turned out. I think I may add some hidden journaling to it. This was the "secret dinner" we found out about last min at Downtown Disney for $10/person. Buffet at the 3 very expensive and very tasty restaurants there. Such a fun experience =)

I made this with the newly bought stash at the scrapbooking expo this last saturday. Had a grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat time there too! I even got my friend Jocelyn to go with me and she got a bunch of starter kits! (if you're reading this, LET'S SCRAP!) So anyways... I've been trying to find ways to motivate myself and organize in a way that will keep me going in this anatomy class that's really stretching me like no other. For some reason, I had a notebook with a specific design in mind and went on a search for it at target and office depot, but when I couldn't find it I was pretty bummed. At the convention, I saw an altered composition book at one of the booths and although I've altered composition books before, it was like a fresh idea. So this is what I came up with sunday night. =) I like being able to put words on the cover to inspire me when I'm discouraged about this tough subject.

wild asparagus pp
lil davis alpha stickers (anatomy)
catlifepress stampe (when)
cafe phrases stickers
american craft ribbon
mm brads
heidi swapp mini tabs

It's been a while...

2006-10-06T20:56:00.000-07:00
It's been a while since I scrapped a page with pictures, let along a page with more than 1 picture! I had to warm up with a card... but with the inspiration of my friend Erin, I was able to scrap not just 1 or 2 pictures, but 3 pictures on one page & liked the way it turned out!!

Scrapping with Erin is always fun. The girl has soooo much stuff that I never feel like I'm missing anything I need to make a nice page or card. It ROCKS! =) (not to mention, she has MAJOR talent)

My Happiness Today is...
It's FRIDAY!!!
I had a productive week
There's nothing serious with Mike's injuried arm
It's the weekend... a much needed rest from a busy and productive week

If there were more hours in a day...

2006-09-26T11:27:00.000-07:00
It's been so busy lately with school, work, cleaning the house, volunteer, starting to workout, preparing dinner and watching CSI that I don't get enough time to scrap. I think I'm going to make the effort to scrap on sundays and tuesday mornings. That is if I'm not just caught up in school but ahead in my reading for class. I haven't even budget time in to study for the GREs and work on USC's application. God help me.

Well this morning, I made 2 cards. I haven't had time to scrap pages and since some birthdays are coming up, I thought I'd stick to making cards for now. When the routine get betters, I'll be able to find time to scrap pages. Lots of them piling up...

I seem to be stuck on green for the cards these days.... probably cos I'm trying to use up the pp.

If I had more hours in a day I'd...
scrapbook
read
journal
travel
take more pictures
catch up with friends
surf twopeas!
organize my house
learn to swing dance
go to disneyland

Art Journal/Planner/Idea Book

2006-09-13T09:52:00.000-07:00
I made an art journal/planner/idea book about a month ago and I love it. I carry it around with me all the time. Since I haven't had the time to scrap when I want to... I joint down the ideas or make sketches of layouts so when I do have the time to scrap... I don't forget what I wanted to do. After making those cards on Sunday, I wanted to scrap some things to add to my art journal. Things that would inspire me and remind me of the positive side of the world.

I came across this quote through Ali Edwards
She had a link to a friend Michelle Ward (whom is a great artist) and she had a quote on her blog that really stuck with me. So I wanted to scrap it and put it in my journal...

Here's another one I did... not sure where I was going with it when I made it. I think when I have a really good day, I'll list my "happiness of today" on it =)

My Happiness today is...
Mike being patient with me in the morning
Having time to blog and be inspired by so many life artists
to be continued...

Time for some Cards!

2006-09-12T22:24:00.000-07:00
It's been a while since I updated and there's a massive picture post coming soon, but for now, it's just some cards I got to scrap last sunday. A lot of creative juice pent up inside because I haven't had time to scrap consistently. Here are some cards I got going...

Bryan & Brandon's birthday are coming up and I was able to scrap them just in time to send it to them yesterday.

Hopefully this will get me blogging more often again... I really do miss keeping up with the blog and scrapbooking.

My happiness today is...
having dinner at rubios with mike and paying only $1 for fish tacos!
it was the last GRE class for me tonight
i'm feeling more and more organized and on top of things

My entry for GPAC - CJ [Karen's CJ]

2006-08-09T17:58:00.000-07:00
A simple layout on my "collection". Not surprised that it was my collection is scrapbooking =)

A Wonderful Date Night...

2006-08-08T17:29:00.000-07:00
Last night, Mike & I celebrated by going ALL OUT. I've been craving Japanese food and so he surprised me by taking me to a nice Japanese restaurant called Sushi Roku in Old Town. The food was delicious and service was really good. It was so much fun! I have the best husband in the WORLD!!

[click on images to enlarge]

My happiness today...
I get to call my grandma tonight
I'm going to scrapbook the CJ that's going out tomorrow
My group presentation is pretty much done
God's helping me get an A in physiology.

It's been a while...

2006-08-01T18:37:00.000-07:00
since my last update. Lots of pictures to post to illustrate the fun things that's happened the last 3 weeks. It's been an incredible journey so far in school and although there seems to be way TOO much information for me to retain in my brain... God seems to make enough room to store everything I need to know each week to do quite well on my exams. All praise to God for getting me this far...

So this is what I've been up to so far on my down time. I started playing with photoshop. Hence the new header. That picture was taken at Long Beach when Mike & I went to Gladstones with his parents. Below is another picture I started to play with but ended up having someone else finish. I'm not advance enough to really make it look like my sister's graduation was in Paris =) but one day I will be... heehee

Another thing to remember in the last 3 weeks was that I completed our Annual Anniversary Page. Mike & I decided that each year when we celebrate our wedding anniversary, we'll come up with things we want to remember about the year and WE'LL scrap it together. What that really means is that we'll come up things we want to remember about the year and I'LL scrap it while he puts the finishing touches on it. haha so here's a picture of him 'finishing' our page =)

There was a morning in the week of a the massssive heat wave that came over us where I seriously thought it was the end of the world. Because the heat was so bad one morning, Mike & I were woken up by it at 6:30. We ended up just spending some time in our garden that morning talking and admiring the flowers that were growing in our small yard. He's been faithfully watering it and making sure they didn't dehydrate from the heat.

I was able to schedule in a trip to Disneyland with a group of friends that got annual passes a month in advance. It seems nearly impossible for me to "just hang out" on short notice these days. So back in June, I asked June & Jessica (plus significant others) to block out a Sunday afternoon to go to Disneyland in July and my sister and rem ended up coming along too. It was tons of fun. We really gotta do it again! =)

On Monday, the prof wasn't feeling well so she cancelled class. I had the afternoon off!! So this idea has been running through my head ALL WEEKEND and having Monday off meant that I was able to make my idea into reality. I've been reading blogs everyday as a source of inspiration and motivation to keep going when I feel like giving up. People like Ali, Cathy Z, Melody Ross, Bonnie Rose, Heidi Swapp... The list goes on (all those on my sidebar, I read daily) anyways... I was reading Cathy Z's blog one day and she had a picture of her organizer from Memory Dock. It made me very much miss the days pior to my PDA where I wrote down everything and got to doodle on my calendar, stick post-its' everywhere, jot down ideas after ideas... but I didn't want to give up my PDA. After internalizing and filtering out ideas to create an organizer/journal/idea book that would fit ME, I came up with this:

I used the Heidi Swapp tabs that came in the Costco Kit to label the months. Found a monthly calendar template online and made it fit exactly on my journal. The cover is filled with rub ons from MM, and mostly from Kelly panaccci. Tied a ribbon as a marker that will allow me to know where I last journaled or came up with an idea.

God is Good.

2006-07-19T23:35:00.000-07:00
It's been a very tough week for me.

I've dedicated my life to a subject I absolutely DO NOT understand. The last 3 days, I've done a lot of complaining, a bunch of whining and a lot more of reading, taking notes and trying to figure out this new language of science. It has made me wonder if I'm really cut out to be an OT and if this really is the field God has called me to. I mean coming from a business background... I can B.S. my way around... I can't do that with science. Physiology will probably be my life for the next 5 weeks...

Despite me wanting to quit every day... God has been ever so faithful and graceous to me. He's given me people to turn to for help, a study group that works well together, slowly but surely increasing my understanding of lecture from 15% to 25% (i was so happy when i understood about 25% of what the prof. was lecturing about today) and he's given me words of encouragement through my journaling and devotional time. He is Good.

A Card, A Layout & A couple Birthdays

2006-07-12T10:09:00.000-07:00
Last Wednesday we celebrated Annie's birthday at cheesecake! I got there late because of class so I had dessert with them. We got her some sunglasses which she proudly wears =) Happy birthday, Roommate!

Mike celebrated his birthday a day early (on sunday). We had a nice BBQ party for him with lots of food, Madden, Guitar Hero, great family & friends. I didn't have time to take many pictures but it was lots of fun. My mom got a cake shaped as a football field cos he loves football. We had so much food left over that we've been eating left over bbq this whole week.

I put together a care package for my twin cousins who are going through a major swim competition back in Singapore. It's a very stressful time for them & I wanted to encourage them to hang in there. I got a bunch of us to write encouraging notes to them and I made an accordion card for each of them. In the care package, I included a disposable camera for them to take pictures of their every day life and I'll have them send it back to me, a insect protection kit I found at Target's $1 section, popcorn and a notebook for them to keep their ideas or to use as a journal. I hope they like it.

It's been a while since I scrapped pictures other than me and Mike, so I decided to scrap a picture of my 2 very metro guy friends. I love them very much.

My dad's birthday this coming Sunday and I made him a card. I enjoy making cards...

My Happiness Today Is...

Spending time with God
Coffee
Hugging Mike
Calling my Grandma today
Talking to Bryan right before his swim competition and finding out that they loved the care package! yay!

fireworks in the park

2006-07-04T21:57:00.000-07:00
Today was good. I woke up knowing that I had the day to do whatever we wanted. I love days off. Mike & I just hung out at home in the morning, lounged around, watched some TV and napped. I got to sit and read a magazine that I haven't had time to read last month.

Later, when it got too hot to stay at home, we went and got free air condition at the mall. Walked around and got some bath gel at Bath & Body Works. They had their semi annual sale, so we got our favorite scent for $5. (Regularly $13)

After the mall closed, we tried to be adventurous and drove around looking for a new place to eat. But later decided that today isn't the day to explore since so many restaurants were closed because of the holiday. So we ended up eating near by home at the Korean Tofu restaurant. Yummy stuff!

After dinner we went to watch fireworks are the park near home. Thank goodness we live close by and it's walking distance. It would have been impossible to find parking. The city put on a pretty good show. Mike & I brought a straw mat to sit on and we got to work out our budget while we waited for the show to start.

To be able to lay down and watch the fireworks shoot up right over you is amazing. We watch the fireworks show at Disneyland all the time, but to really enjoy it laying down and having it cover the sky right over you is another story. It would have been better if they played some good music to go with the show, but I think we're just really spoiled from the fireworks show at Disneyland.

My Happiness Today is...
watching fireworks with Mike
having a day off
getting to surf 2peas
finding my bath gel on sale!