Throwback Thursday: Kuku ♥

I was downloading some Hawaiian music for my Mom, tonight when heart started to remember my dear Kuku.  It's been almost 12 years since he's passed, but I still remember my last phone call with him.  I remember him telling me over and over how much he loved me.  I hope with all of my heart that he knows how much I love and miss him.

Baked.

I'm not really one to bake.  It's not something I particularly enjoyed because I'd always burn myself. NO BUENO. For the last several years, I've taken a great liking to cooking.  I love cooking because you get instant results.  If something doesn't taste right, you can change it, right there and then. BAM! 
As of late, I've found some easy breezy recipes that I've enjoyed baking, like Lion House Banana Bread. I LOVE this banana bread! It's so dang delicious!!  And the chocolate chips make it SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better!! 
Plus, it helps having someone who enjoys my baking.  During Christmastime, Levi and I were suppose to do some baking but just got so busy and wrapped up in the holidays.  We've got so many bags of chocolate chips & Butterscotch chips, and I feel like they're just begging to be used!  Last night, I had a couple of free hours, so I thought I'd bake some Butterscotch & Heath Bar Cookies! OH MAN!  So dang yummy!!! Seriously, I could probably go eat a few more, but my hips do not need that!  :)
I think what I enjoy the most about baking, as with cooking, is doing it for others to enjoy.  I'm so so so grateful that Levi enjoys my cooking & baking...that warms my heart to no end.  I look forward to cooking for our future family, someday.  
Ok I'm gettin' choked up..... Happy Thursday!

Love!

Yesterday, after a job interview I had, I walked over to Starbucks to treat myself to a lil breakfast.  As I was enjoying my turkey panini and strawberries & cream frap, I noticed a couple that just pulled up to parking space directly facing me.  They pulled up, but didn't get out, which made me a lil curious so I looked back up.  They were kissing each other.  I know this should have made me look away, but as I watched them tenderly kiss each other, it made me think of my sweetheart.  It made me miss him, and crave his tender kisses.  A couple thoughts came to mind...

*I thought about how much I love this man.  How he's become my best friend, my partner in crime, my truest confidant, the one I show all of my weaknesses to, my sweetheart that I share my dreams and desires with and the only one I want to spend the rest of my life and eternity with.  I'm so lucky to begin and end my day, with him by my side.  

*I thought about how much I love LOVE! I can't wait for Valentine's Day.  A day to show and give LOVE to everyone!  

*I thought about how everyone deserves to be loved.  I'm excited for my dear friend Eidde and the opportunity he has this weekend to marry his dear Joe.  How exciting for them! I look forward to celebrating their love, this Saturday!  

*Then I thought, "Damn, I want some tender lovin' kisses!"  So I swung by Levi's work to drop off a Blueberry scone and squeeze him oh so tight!  That was definitely the highlight of my day! Oh I love that man so much!

If I Only Had Today - Hilary Weeks

Music in my heart.

Tonight, I somehow stumbled across this video and it's one of my most favorite Tongan hymns.  

It makes me think back to Sunday afternoons I use to spend with my parents, in my childhood home.  I would practice church hymns on my yellow piano, and my Mom would sing along.  Since she's a natural Alto, I would sing Soprano and then we'd switch so I could learn the Alto parts.  Occasionally. my Dad would join us and hum along to the Bass part.  My Dad had such a beautiful Bass voice and I miss hearing him sing, in church.  When my Dad would join my Mom and I, we'd switch over to singing Tongan hymns.  I was always grateful that he would join us and teach me about some of his favorite Tongan hymns.  

Tonight, as I was singing along to video above, my heart and mind found its way back to those cherished Sunday afternoons that we spent together.  I miss Sundays like those.

January Weekends!

What a crazy, fun, exciting, adventurous month it's already been!

Levi and I went to Disneyland & California Adventure last weekend! SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!

Gotta love being a So.Cal resident and being to go to both parks for just $124! Loved it! I think the Matterhorn Bobsleds is my new favorite ride at Disneyland! Tons of fun!  I'd never been on it before and it was awesome!  I also went on Space Mountain for the first time and...well....that was quite the experience.  Not one I'm looking to relive anytime soon. Or ever.

Yesterday, we spent the day at Kobey's Swap Meet and La Jolla Coves.  Kobey's is always such a blast from the past, a glimpse back into my childhood Saturdays with my family.  We walked all around the Coves and even checked out Sunny Jim Cave.  It was a trippy view, but it was seriously a claustrophobic adventure going down those 145 steps.  Going down the steps wasn't nearly as bad as the climb back up.  Oh man....I seriously need to go to the gym. Badly.  We chilled around the Coves and just took in all the oceanic beauty.  It was gorgeous, breathtaking and simply wonderful.  The weather was just too wonderful to even think that it's "winter" here.  Love it!!
We headed over to Windansea and took a couple more photos.  It was a great spot to shoot photos at sunset.

I kinda wished I had my big camera, since there were so many great photo opportunities....so I thought we'd take some photos of each other....

I was lovin' the waves that crashed on the cliff behind us. 

However, if you start to notice a shadow of a wall of water, then you should probably move away--FAST!! {but if you don't, you end up with a great photo--see below}

Then this is what your next photo will look like...

Yep, I was drenched all down my backside, from head to toe!  My new Nikes were soaked!  I mean, I was rather lucky because if you go back and look "wall of water" photo, you'll noticed that there's a photographer back behind my right elbow.  Levi said that the photographer, along with all of his photo equipment, got wet! Oooh, not good.  
All in all, we've had some pretty fun weekends!  I love when we have our weekend adventures! Especially when it follows our Friday night date nights!  

As for next weekend, I look forward to hangin' out with my ol' childhood best friends! Until then, here's hopin' this next week becomes an answer to my prayers!

More from the peanut gallery.....

Dude, I hate being sick.  

It's just gross and achy, plus I just want to be in bed, asleep.

How in the world am I fine ALL week, then Thursday night it just hits me! Seriously, it hit me in a matter of a half hour.  I was folding laundry, then I started to get a little cold, my lower back started aching (I thought it was from sitting on the soft mattress) and my nose started running with no end in sight. I was hoping it was just allergies, but when I woke up at 4:30am, my nose was still running and my throat felt scratchy.  

It wasn't allergies, anymore.....

So, here I sit at work, already downed 30,000iu's of Vitamin D and DayQuil & Halls have become my new best friends.  I have no idea how much water I've drunk today, but I know I've probably been to the restroom at least 8 times today.  I just want to flush this damn cold outta me because I'm suppose to see Mickey all weekend with my sweetheart, so I don't want to be sick, sleepy and achy.  I think tonight's a good night to take some NyQuil!  

Damn cold!

Again!! GRRR!!!

Today, I'm sick.

I feel like I was just saying this a couple weeks ago.  I shouldn't be saying this until later this year. 

WHAT. THE. HECK.!?!

I'm so mad, that i'm sick!!  Of ALL the weekends this should happen, why this one?!?!? UGH!!!!! Mad, I tell you, MAD!!!

So here I am, at work, trying to keep my germs to myself, because OBVIOUSLY someone here didn't do that and some of us are sick! That makes me mad, also!! GRRR!!! 

I'm drinking water like a drought is upon us and taking 10,000iu's of Vitamin D, every 3 hours, to try to knock this cold outta me.  I'm also taking DayQuil so it can help stop anymore symptoms from getting worse.  I wish I could go to sleep, I know that would help immensely!  7 more hours to go.....  Wish me luck. 

Cuz!

Last night, I was blessed to hang out with two of my cousins that flew in from Hawaii.  Chad & Mahina are first cousins, and I'm their second cousin. "Eh, no mattah, we all family!"  We haven't been altogether since we were young keiki (young kids).  Oh man, it was just fun being able to 'talk story' with them.  I'm thankful for being able to connect with them daily, online.  Such a blessing!!  
We had dinner at Sycuan Casino's buffet, Paipa's---DELICIOUS, as always!!  All in all, it was just a great evening of good food, great company and wonderful stories! I look forward to their next visit, later this year! Hopefully our paths will cross sooner than later! :)

Life in the last 12 hours, via Instagram.

Meijo Sushi with my sister & the kids...

My new kicks, ready for this weekend!

I taught my 70+ y/o Mom how to text, last week. I'm so proud of her!

Birthday Weekend!!

This past Friday was my sweetheart's birthday....

I wanted to make it as special as possible, for him.  For his lunch, I took him his favorite sweet tea & a pollo asado burrito. I'm glad I got me one also because those burritos are so delish! Since he had to work an 11 hour day, I thought a warm dinner would be nice to come home to : 

(Lemon butter salmon, garlic shrimp, twice baked potatoes & green beans). Of course his birthday wouldn't be complete without his traditional German chocolate cake: 

It tasted soooooo good! I'm glad he enjoyed it! 

Originally I told him to pick ANY restaurant that he'd want to go to for his birthday. Since he had to work overtime on his birthday, we put off his birthday dinner til Saturday. Luckily, his dad & wife happened to be in town, so all four of us went to eat at the buffet at one of the local casinos. Levi wanted his prime rib & crab legs and he couldn't have chosen anyplace better than that! Oh man, it was superb!!

All in all it's been such a magnificent birthday weekend. I wanted his birthday to be well celebrated because he deserves the very best. Levi is the best partner I could ever dream of having. I'll never know how I got this lucky. He is beyond thoughtful in EVERYTHING!! He is patient with my shortcomings, genuinely loving, extremely giving, intelligent, comical, quick witted, tender and a million other things I could rattle off. 

As this weekend comes to a close, I can't help but think and be ever so grateful for not canceling our first date (I was so excruciatingly nervous!!!!). I never dreamt that I'd ever be so lucky! 

Happy birthday sweetheart! I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you & making them bigger and better than the last! Heaven knows that you deserve nothing less than the best!! I love you!