As of late in early February.

Hair Cut.

My hair was getting too long.  I needed it cut and trimmed up.  It feels so much lighter and cooler.  Thank goodness.  I figured a nice trim before the funeral would be nice. 

Celebratory dinner.

Went out to dinner with my sister and nephew after a funeral viewing, last night.  It was a very delicious Chinese dinner.  I'd like to think it was a lil celebratory dinner for me.  :)

Relief Society Night.

Tuesday evening was my ward's Relief Society activity night.  It was so nice to get to know some of the sisters in my ward.  There was so much laughing! I loved it!

Mission Beach Day.

I had a half day certificate from work, so I took Tuesday afternoon off and headed to the beach.  I haven't been to the beach (in swim clothes) since August 2014. Oh man, it was spectacularly wonderful afternoon.  I LOVED IT!!! I can't wait to get back to the beach.  It also helped that the weather was oh so lovely. 

Awesomeness.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE THE BEACH!!!

Valentine's Day wreath.

I had to update our door's wreath. I seriously love our burlap wreath and being able to update it with the seasons & holidays.

Korean BBQ.

Last Friday, I went to Korean BBQ with two of my colleagues and their partners. It was so much fun and full of delicious, scrumptious food!! I can't wait to go again with my Levi. I think he'll enjoy it!

That's it for now....gotta run to an appointment.

Hodad's, Petco Park & Some Bee Pollen!

What a great weekend!
Friday night, we went to "Mormon Night with the Padres".  They were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It was Levi's first baseball game at Petco Park and I wanted him to have a really good time!

We bought some tickets with my ward (congregation), so we ended up in the nosebleed section.  The awesome thing about Petco Park is that there are no bad seats! Every section is pretty awesome!
Since we were there right after work, we ate at Hodad's.  Oh my goooodness!! It was so dang tasty!!

Can you see the awesomeness of his burger?!?! Wowzers! We weren't expecting that!! It was so dang delicious!! Oh man.....I would buy a $5 ticket to the park, just to eat at that Hodad's again.  Plus, it was nice being back at Hodad's, where we had our second date:

I don't remember the food being that delicious on our 2nd date, probably because I was so nervous that night, 20 months ago.  And the Frings (onion rings & fries basket) was AWESOME, Friday night!!!  Man, just thinking about it makes my mouth water!

Anywhooo, the game was pretty good but the Padres lost.  It was nice to go to a baseball game and be with Levi at his first Petco Park game.  I had such a good time with him.  He's so much fun!

On Saturday, we had lunch with my ol' friend Bugs & her husband.  I haven't seen her for about a year and a half so it was nice to finally be able to catch up with her and introduce them to Levi.  We went to the buffet at one of the local casinos and had a grand time! Seriously, it's as if time never came between us. We caught up like dear friends do and it was nice to know that her husband and Levi had a few things in common.  We talked, we laughed, we cracked some crab legs and laughed some more. Such a terrific afternoon! 

On the way home, we all stopped at the local farmers stand to buy some fresh mangoes & avocados.  The man at the stand gave us a few samples of cherries, various honeys and bee pollen.  As we drove away, we wished he would have given us the honey after the bee pollen because the pollen left a funny aftertaste.  A couple minutes down the road, my bottom lip started to tingle, along with the back of my tongue.  I texted Bugs to see if she was having the same reaction.  I started to worry when it was just me.  Levi continued driving and didn't make a big deal about it.  As we got closer to town, I started to lose my voice and I sounded very raspy.  I don't know how this was happening so quickly.  Part of me thought it was the pollen and the other part of me thought it was all the smoke in the casino and the cold night air, the night before.  I didn't want to freak, but it was weird how quickly I was losing my voice and how I couldn't clear my throat/chest.  We stopped at 7/11 and got Slurpees which helped my throat a little.  We drove over to Wal Mart and immediately went over to the medicine aisle.  I was freaking out a little more because I started to lose more of my voice and it was a strain to even speak over a whisper.  Levi is very good at staying calm when I start to lose my cool; this was one of those moments.  I ripped open the box of Benadryl, popped a pill and chugged my Slurpee.  Within 10 minutes, my voice started to return slightly.  We went home, put away our groceries and a half hour later I was out cold!  When I woke up around 9, I was still groggy and very sleepy.  What's in that stuff?!?!  Crazy Benadryl!  I felt a lot better and my voice returned to normal.  I don't know what happened, if it was the pollen or not, but I don't think I'll be doing any pollen sampling anytime soon!  I felt like I was Hitch! (love that movie!)

Wow.....what a weekend!! I always enjoy my time off with my sweetheart.  It makes me ever so grateful to be getting married to this man, so so soon!

Fiber.

It's 12:39am, Monday morning.
I should be asleep, considering I need to be at work in 7.75 hours.
My stomach has been weird today.  Not too sure what I ate, especially since Levi & I eat the same things on the weekend and he's feeling fine.  I, on the other hand, am not feeling fine.
Today, I was sitting on our bedroom floor sorting stuff, when I suddenly got some cramping in my stomach.  I thought it was menstral cramps, since my period starts this week. Within a few seconds, it turned from cramps to a really bad stomach ache.  I leaned on my basket because it was just too much all at once.  Then the bad stomach ache felt like I suddenly needed to throw up. 
I HAAAAAAAAAATE throwing up.  Everything about it just disgusts me!!
So I went to the bathroom and sat on the toilet.  I kept an eye on the trash can cause I felt like my head might be in it, in the next few seconds.  I'd rather throw up in the trash can than hover over a toilet bowl (which is the entire reason why I'll NEVER drink in my life--I just imagine myself hungover, with my head in a toilet. GROSS!)
Anyways, I ended up showering and just lying down on our bed.  I've gotta say, our bed is the most comfortable place in the entire universe. It sucks us in EVERY time we lie down.  Sometimes, it's so hard to get out of bed in the mornings because it's just so damn cozy & relaxing.  It is so easy to spend 75% of our weekends in this bed. I LOVE this bed too much!
So I figured out what it could be.  Yesterday, as in Saturday, we picked up a Quinoa salad and I ended up having two servings of it.  So delicious...but apparently, pretty potent to my system.  I forgot that I was packed with A LOT of fiber and my body isn't use to that much fiber all at once.  I also forgot to up my water intake due to all this fiber! Ugh.. I just hope it goes away before work....or else it's gonna be a really, REALLY long Monday.

Random + Character Reference + Life in March

*Tonight, one of my best friends asked me to write a character reference letter for their court appearance.  Of course this was easy to do, because I have nothing bad to say about this person.  It made me think of what would be said for me, if I was ever in need of such a reference letter.  I guess it's the same for what I hope is said in my obituary some day.... I hope it's filled with good and funny things. 

*My sister's birthday was this past Wednesday.  We chatted that day, but I wasn't able to call or visit her.  Perhaps I'll swing by tomorrow, since I'll be down in her neck o' woods for....

*My Dad's birthday is tomorrow...I guess technically today.  I can't believe how old he is.  Time flies by so quickly.  Sometimes I look at him and wish he were 50 years younger.  I often wonder what it would be like to have been friends with my parents, at my age.   Sometimes I miss his laugh and his funny jokes, especially his magic tricks.  I'm glad I get to see my Dad tomorrow.

*Work is going pretty well, at least I think so.   Sometimes it's very interesting reading through certain court documents, as I prepare case files.  So far, I like everyone I work with.  Everyone's so nice, welcoming and positive.  I would most certain enjoy working there for MANY years to come.  A chick was fired this last week, oh man, it made me remember when I was fired once.  Dude, once you're fired you NEVER want to relive that experience again.  I felt for her because it all happened in about 2 minutes!  I don't know what she did or didn't do, but damn it definitely lit a fire under my butt because for the rest of the afternoon I pumped out those case files like no one's business!

*Jackass 3D just came on tv (censored)....oh man, some of that junk makes me crack up!!  Duck Hunting--YES!!!

*Levi and I went to see 300: Rise of an Empire today.  Intense!! 

*Hermanita and I went to San Diego Home Cooking this past Thursday.  Oh man, SUPER FRIGGIN DELISH!! I was tellling Tat about it, and now we'll be going back on Tuesday with Brighty.  It's like a cross between Denny's and Marie Callender's.  Their buns are THE BEST!!*

*Ok, it's late and a big beautiful, luxurious bed is calling out for me! G'nite!

Square Life: February/March

Life, via Instagram...

Finally tried the greatness which is Smashburger.  Oh man, seriously dig that place! And those fries are too good!

Enjoyed Sunday Brunch at Bali Hai restaurant today.  What a perfectly gorgeous day!  Fantastic views and SCRUMPTIOUS food!! I was so stuffed, I didn't eat anything for the rest of the day.  Did I mention it was DELISH!??!

I think I'm part Otter.  Poor Levi, I think I need to have a barrier sometimes.

Birch Aquarium - Beautiful fishes and aquatic life! 

I definitely need to frame this post card.  I love it so much!

Spent an evening with Hermanita eating Carne Asada Fries @ Lolita's in Bonita.  Probably the BEST Mexican food EVER! Their Chimichangas are AMAAAAZING!

I got this fortune on my one month mark! I had to chuckle to myself! 

I'm grateful for all the jobs I had up until this one, to teach me the things that I use daily.  

Nicolosi's in El Cajon... it was good the first time, but it sure as hell can't beat Filippi's! 

I felt like I was about 6 years old, using this at work.  

Did a lil shoppin' at Sprout's...couldn't help but chuckle at this sign. 

Had the opportunity to attend a baptism at my old ward.  How I wish I could turn back time because I miss ALL of my dear friends from CVYSA. 

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!

Glimpse.

In short, Christmas was good.

I'm so glad I got to see my family and spend it with my sweetheart. 

Man, I was ever so grateful for the taro, sweet potato, kalua pig and potato salad my Mom made.  It warmed my heart so much.

More on Christmas later...

\

As of late in late, late June.

*I haven't blogged for a while, I think I was recovering from all this engagement excitement!  I love being engaged to the bestest man in the entire universe.  

*Speaking of which, one of my nephews got married this past Friday.

They were married up in Logan, Utah.  I'm happy for his happiness.  I wish them the very best!  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it up there for their wedding, but I'm grateful for all the pics I was able to see moments afterwards.  

*My whole family went up to Utah for the wedding and man, can I just say San Diego felt VERY lonely! I mean, I know I had Levi, but it's a whole different feeling when every single member of your family leaves.  I haven't really felt that since I lived up in Utah for school. I think I'm very much my father's daughter--I need family members surrounding me.  

*I had a wonderful time with Levi, this weekend.  I just love spending time with him!

*Church was good today.  I hung out with Hoddie today. Oh man, she makes me laugh!

*My very good friend Dixie came to town on Thursday.  Hermanita, Arbro, Dixie & I went to Lolita's in Bonita for some super delicious Mexican food!! Oh man, seriously, I LOOOOOOVE Mexican food

*As far as wedding plans go.... we're thinking of next spring.  I'm glad.  I'm not in a rush to start all this wedding planning craziness!!! No way, Jose!  No thanks!  This is a good thing, because it gives us a lot of time to spend at the gym.  Can I just say how much I like working out with Levi?!  Sometimes, it's a lil hard because we make each other laugh, but I'm glad we're doing this!  

*I'm looking forward to the 4th of July. I LOVE Independence Day! It's the best!  I love celebrating this great country......with bbq's....at the beach.....with fireworks!! Love it!

*Ok....I'm out! Peace!

Oh Phil!

This happened....twice, this week.

El Toro Tri-tip sandwich

Quarter Baby Back Ribs 

Seriously, I'm totally LOVIN' Phil's BBQ! This place is TOO FREAKIN'  DELICIOUS!!!!

I went on Wednesday to celebrate my nephew's birthday.  

Then, last night to celebrate the end of the school semester with Levi.  

Those ribs are like buttah....melt in my mouth delicious!!

I could seriously go back there today and be perfectly happy.

Those beans are the BEST!!!

NYE!

*My youngest nephew, Kalanster, and his band performed at the House of Blues last night.  I was so proud of him.  I know he had a good time and they've come a long way.  Good for them!   

*Tonight's New Years Eve and my family & Levi are going out to dinner.  We're going to an ol' family fave.  It's pretty good Chinese food, but nothing like my beloved Wing Wah.

*Last night, on the way to Kalanster's gig, Levi & I were caught in the rain.  We were trying to locate Nicky Rottens, but ended up going to Panda Inn because of the rain AND it was A LOT closer.  I wouldn't have minded walking to find it, but barely getting over a cold and walking in the rain, doesn't make for a good combination.  I REALLY like Panda Inn.  Just walking in made me remember our Halloween date, when we ate there in our panda costumes.  Oh such a splendid evening, which makes me like Panda Inn more!  Besides, the food is SO good!! 

*I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty ecstatic to finally have my first NYE kiss at midnight.  It only took 32 years, but I'm excited.  

*Joz, my friend and previous Relief Society counselor-turned RS President, got her mission call to Florida.  I'm so excited for her.  I know that she will be a wonderful and uplifting missionary!! I will miss her greatly! 

*We went to watch Les Miserables.  I was a lil hesitant to see it because I had dreamed of finishing the book beforehand, but if its taken me a year and a half to try, I guess it would just be better to watch it.  Oh man, I wanted to cry.  Everything that Mr. Red had told me about it was true, it was beautiful...captivating and marvelous.  I loved it.  I wish there was more on the priest, because I loved reading about him, but Jean Valjean was magnificent.  I loved him.  All the songs make more sense and mean more now that I know the stories behind the songs.   I think the song I love the most is "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables".  When Marius sings it, you can just feel the loss and hurt in his voice--or maybe I can hear it more in the musical soundtrack.  I love that song, but I also love "Bring Him Home"!  So beautiful.  All in all, such a beautiful soundtrack! LOVE IT!!!!  I can't wait to finish the book now because I know there's so much to the story than what we saw in the movie.  

*Watching Les Mis made me miss Mr. Red.  I haven't seen him since my birthday and soon enough he'll be moving.  I miss our talks.  I miss hearing his enthusiasm for Les Mis.  Since Bugs has been extremely busy and I haven't seen her since summer, he's been the closest thing to a best friend.  I just miss having someone I can talk to about everything and anything, and knows my heart w/o any explanation.  I wish I knew what was going with Bugs.  Kinda sucks.  

*I'm excited for the new year.  I'm excited for a fresh start.  I've been thinking about a word/motto that I can focus on, for 2013.  There's some changes in my life that I need to make, things to improve and enrich my life.  I'm still deciding on my 'focus word', but whatever it is, I know it'll help better my {daily} life.  I'm optimistic on the good that this new year will bring.  

Thursday, too soon.

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is in a week! ONE WEEK!!! 

Where has the time gone?!?!  I feel like October went by in a flash and now November is flying by too!!  In a way, I hope November flies by quickly so that Levi comes home sooner.  In the same breath, I'm ok with it going by slowly.  I'm not ready for Christmas to be here....not at all.  

However, back to Thanksgiving..... 

I sure do love Thanksgiving. I love the togetherness.  I love Cranberry sauce.  I love the fact that it's so American.  I love it all!!

The "October 6 Goal"...or basically, for life.

So my nephew, Kalanster and I have this master plan to lose weight.  Well, he's already fit, but he wants to be toned.  And I...well, I'm neither but need to be healthier and lose some weight!
As my mission president always said, "A goal not written down in merely a dream", and since I need to put these goals where I can see them often, I thought I'd post them here:

Plan to Lose Weight - Sunday, August 26, 2012

*Organize sleep pattern, at least 8 hours.

*Last meal to be eaten by 7:00pm.

*Stop drinking soda & increase water intake.
*Eat healthy quantities & eat right!

*Do 30minutes - 1 hour of Cardio exercise. 

*Stretch upon waking up and before bed.

*Meditate for at least 10 minutes.

*Limit all sugars & sweets.

*No drive thru fast foods.
*Sit ups & Push ups: 50/50

So there ya have it.  Man, I NEED to lose weight.  My incentive for losing weight is because PajamaPants is getting married on Oct.6th. With the amount of gay guys that will be there, I can't look shabby! Besides, I have other reasons :)  Alrighty, wish me luck.  

Oh Thursday, I love you!

My Thurday started off with a morning phone call from this guy I've been talking to. [It's nothing serious so he doesn't get a nickname yet]  Oh he makes me smile. 
Around noon I had lunch with Mr. Red.  As always, it was a very lovely chance to be friends with him in real life ("real life", that's what I call spending time with someone "in person"), I've truly missed just being able to talk and laugh with him.  It was very nice.  Now that he's busy with his girlfriend and her kids, times like that will be few and far between.  
I was able to find the Mason jars that I've been searching high and low for! I was able to fill them with all my legumes! YUM! Looks awesome! Also did some "Thrifting" in the afternoon--so much fun! So many great treasures! Found two chairs for the kitchen for $15 (for both)--total score! 
Last night, I went to play Volleyball with my ol' YSA ward.  Oh I've missed them all so much! I love all my ol' friends so dearly! It was just a great ending to a terrific day! I love when Thursdays shape up to be the best days ever! Love it!

The "1am, I should be packing" post.

The Good:  I bought a Crock pot today.  I don't think I know ANYONE who buys a Crock pot.  I've only ever seen them acquired at bridal showers.  Dang it.....yet another reason to get married! :)  Also, a friend gave me two tickets to Island Divine!  It's very similar to Taste of Hillcrest, but all in one place and not stretched across several city blocks.

The Bad: I've only packed about 1/6 of my room and need to get it all out of here by noon tomorrow (Saturday).  ideally by 9am would be better.....we'll see. By the way, it is NOT fun getting lost in Ikea.  EVERYTHING looks the same, so even though you think you're getting closer to the check out, you're actually just walking by the same section for the 5th time. 

The Ugly:  I went to Taco Bell 3 times today. 
1. I hadn't eaten all day and desparately needed something to eat (2 Chulpas & Cinnamon twists)
2. Driving home around midnight, I needed some caffeine for my looooong night of packing.(Diet Pepsi)
3. After picking up some tickets from a friend's house [about twenty minutes ago], I was REALLY craving the crushed ice at TB.  It would be awkward to just ask for a cup of ice, so I ordered Cinnamon Twists.  When I got up to the window, the employee was pretty dang cute!! Blonde, blue eyed, tall & cuddly (ie: not a skinny mini).  I was on the verge of saying "You're cute!", (which I'm sure would have totally made his night) ............but, I look pretty haggardly tired, not wearing a bra under my hoodie & driving my Mom's mini-van.  Nothing about it would have been impressive, and I barely wanted to look at the guy.  Even as I type this, I'm tempted to go back and tell him..........but really, who does that?  Besides, I swore off men & dating, this month.

Mom's Birthday Breakfast!

Today's my Mom's birthday....





 and I thought I'd make her & my Dad breakfast. 

I love making Quiche and I thought I'd try a cool funky syrup for the pancakes.

I caramelized the apples with butter, cinnamon, sugar & vanilla.  Never made it before,  but it turned out pretty spectacular!!! Seriously, I want to make more pancakes just to eat more of it! I love breakfast! and I love my Mom! Today was a good combination of both!

Today's lunch: Dim Sum!

I went to 99 Ranch Market today, to do a lil shopping. It's an Asian market that's usually jam packed with a lot of Asian people.  Sometimes I feel like the darkest brown person in there....as well as the tallest and widest, too.  But I love it! So many childhood memories come to mind.  It makes me think of my Tutu (grandmother) and my Filipino childhood friends, Orly & Corly [yep, that was their names, brother & sister].  I'm grateful that I come from a Polynesian and Asian background. (My grandmother was part Chinese.)  The food there is DELICIOUS!!  I just love looking at everything!  It's almost like being in a different country! Yum yum Dim Sum!

p.s. I have a date tonight. I'm nervous.  Man....why'd I say yes!? Ugh..... 

Taste of Hillcrest!

On Friday, a friend hooked me up with with some SWEET tickets to Taste of Hillcrest, for the next day. There were about 55 participating restaurants, eateries, & bars.  For $30, or in our case $Free, you could taste samples from each of these places.  I thought it was going to be small portions, but that was NOT the case! We hit about 28 spots in 4 hours.  Man, we were hurtin' in the end! Was it worth it? HELL YEAH!!! LOVED IT!! Good food & good company make for the BEST times!







 

(came across a random sign and it totally warmed my heart!)

For now...

my weekend:

p.s. I really REALLY wanna go to Utah. I need to get the hell outta San Diego for a few days! I miss my cousin Kenikeni's cooking! *sigh*

In case you were wondering.....

For dessert, I had planned on:

I got him his favorite ice cream flavor: Banana. And for me, I chose my beloved Mint ice cream. Great idea for dessert, right? We'd both be happy with our favorite ice creams!
That's if someone didn't forget them at home on the counter.... :( bummer. 
As for the rest of dinner... I was NERVOUS as heck!! Seriously NERVOUS!!! As I was peeling the Prosciutto apart, my hands were shaking!!!! It was ridiculous!! I haven't had such shaky hands since I played organ at church. It was crazy!! Luckily, Houston's hugs, kisses & very kind words eased my nerves.  I was nervous because I wanted everything to be just right and also, I wanted to impress him.  He reassured me that he'd be happy with anything I made and knew it would be just wonderful. 
It was!  It was my first time cooking Asparagus and it was delightful!!  The Salmon was superb and the Twice Baked Potatoes were fantastic!! 
He cleaned up the kitchen, which I was going to help with, but he said that it's "house rules, the cook doesn't clean."  I'm not use to that.  It was such a great evening!!  I will say this much, it was lovely slow dancing in the kitchen with him.  I felt like I had two left feet! The only other man I've ever really slowed dance with was my Dad.  My Dad's such a good lead and I was use to him.  However, when I relaxed and just let Houston lead, then all was well.  I need to do that more often... relax and let Houston lead.

Other than that, it was a very wonderful evening.  Man, I really like Houston ♥.  Glad I get to spend tomorrow with him out in the country! Can't wait!

Menu!

Can I just say how crazy/excited I am for tomorrow night!!
 I've FINALLY decided on a menu!!

Appetizer: Prosciutto & Cantaloupe

A VERY delicious combination! Plus it'll remind him of his time in Italia!

 Dinner: Crab stuffed Salmon!!

I've been craving these for several weeks now.

Twice Baked Potatoes!

Sauteed Asparagus!

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Now, if only I could figure out what to have for dessert.......

Maybe, Banana Ice Cream since it's his favorite?

However, I did think about:

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My beloved Viking!!

We'll see.........

 Let's just hope Houston likes it...and likes me even more because of it! :)