30 Days of Happy: Day 11-16

Day 11: ....zzzZZzzZz....

Day 12: Shout out to Dr. Dennis Gross. Whoever he is. haha

Day 13: 1. date night with E 2. Sephora (perfumes, perfumes and more perfumes!)

Day 14: Omg to the highest level! I am looking forward to this day for the entire week because it's already Saturday in the Philippines and it's the most awaited "Tamang Panahon!" Yes, you read that right. I am such a big fan! Actually, a first time fanatic. Yes, fanatic talaga! Like stalking-for-updates-every-day fanatic! Like ignoring-my-husband-at-home-to-watch-it-all-day-long fanatic! Not all the time pero almost narin. haha. I'm so glad I am not alone in this! Some friends and I had a viewing party which E supported though he doesn't understand my madness! I feel like I am not myself when I watch this show. (Shout out to people I respect na Aldub fans rin. haha)

It's been three days now since that episode but I can't get over the kilig overload! Aaahh!

Day 15: Went to Cara Bella then had a lunch date with E in Japan Town after driving around Pacific Heights. Goals ulit. Kahit $3,500 ang one bedroom. What now!? Wala namang masama mangarap. Thankful for the great weather today too!

Day 16: I am highly appreciative of Sabbath days. It is indeed a rest from all our labors. I wonder how we will be if we don't get at least a day of rest? Baka mas maraming sisa kung ganun. I was trying so hard to focus (and not check on Aldub updates. haha) and I was slightly triumphant. Slight lang coz I checked after services.

But! On the brighter note, I loved the testimonies I heard today from the speakers especially the first one given by Stan, a young men from our ward. His topic was about general conference but I was especially touched by his love and appreciation to his brother, Jeff (who's a friend as well) and Jeff's love for him for not giving up and kept pushing him to go to church. After his 5 year hiatus from church, he came back and is planning to serve a mission upon graduating high school. Am I glad to hear him say the words he said! I was honestly downhearted by what youth do these days but because of his testimony, I am reminded of the unending patience our Savior will always have for us. It is the same patience that Jeff showed Stan; the same patience we should be showing our loved ones who currently are on a different path than we would hope them to be on.

I sincerely relish the love that envelopes us when we accept the atonement of our Savior -- what I've seen from Stan yesterday. After all the busying during the weekdays, it was refreshing to be reminded why we actually do what we do, why we are here and where we are to go.

Love Sabbath days.

30 Days of Happy: Day 6

1. I enjoy long drives with great music. I took the longer route to home today and had a much needed 'me time.'

2. I am grateful for a loving husband who prepared dinner tonight and even washed the dishes. :)

Wait there's more!

How dare I forget how awesome tonight's Kalyeserye episode was?! I have never been so kilig like this. Only Aldub has the power to make me so. Yes I am a fan. I am always happy to see Pinoys united bc of all the emotions this TV show brings. Ang saya tignan ng mga taong masaya at mga taong nagpapasaya. 

30 Days of Happy: Day 5

Today is one of those days when I really need to be beyond mindful of the blessings in my life. Though I may be an optimist most of the time, most doesn't necessarily translate to everyday and today was just not a day of cheer. All I can think of are things I can't have. haha Now that I am recalling it, it may seem miniscule but I couldn't help but focus on the gloomy side of things. Ugh. 1. I wanted to get a dog but apparently can't and will be kicked out of our house if I do so secretly. Maybe not? How would they know?! Well, my conscience would know! Do I want it enough to move? Yeah yeah, "first world problem" as I would usually tell someone who's thinking of the same unimportant question. 2. A second business venture presented itself through my tatay but since we haven't finished the first one and seen its results yet, I can't just jump on the new chance. But if it's just up to myself, I would jump on it in a heart beat. haha Peace! (if you're reading this) Wanting to do it right away doesn't negate the reasons given to me not to though. :) So I really understand why we can't just yet. Really! Pramis! 

So how did I enliven my mindset after beating myself down bc of things I can't have right now? Kasi naman gusto agad agad?! Then I saw this on my FB page:

There is no harm in always trying to achieve goals we set for ourselves but let us not diminish the things that we already accomplished. I am reminded that though I can't get what I want right now, there are plenty of other beauties I am surrounded with that I should be grateful for. Sometimes we get so caught up with what needs to be done that we forget to stop and realize that we are alive, we are breathing, we have roofs over our head, there is food on the table and that we have people who love us dearly. These things alone make us RICH. Indeed, to be satisfied is to be grateful. 

So... Day 5: I am grateful for Facebook since I saw this photo there. I am grateful for Pres. Uchtdorf's pleasant words and I am much grateful for the basic things I need in life that I have. 

30 Days of Happy: Day 3

I had a list of jobs I wanted to apply for.
Got the #3 on the list just today. Yay me!
Getting closer to #1!

30 Days of Happy: Day 2

I tagged my girl friends on Facebook to join me in my 30 Days of Happy and I already read some of them post the reasons they are grateful today. I am excited to see more!

Day 2 was a Sunday. I was assigned to teach the Young Women of the church (ages 12-17) about How can I become more Christlike? This topic is very close to my heart. I love my Savior deeply. I am forever indebted to Him and will always be grateful for His love. The night before, I was feeling so lazy and thinking of all the excuses I can give so I wont teach. Sunday morning came and I still wasn't preparing my lesson. How ironic! Here I am professing my love for my Savior but not wanting to teach/talk about Him.

We arrived almost an hour before church because E had a meeting with the missionaries so I just stayed in the car going through the motions of somewhat preparing for my lesson but my mind just meandered on the great Christlike examples people have shown me throughout the years. This is a simple lesson; but it doesn't mean it's an easy one. I guess the simplicity of it is actually what makes it hard. I am reminded of the primary song I Am Trying To Be Like Jesus. All the simple instructions are listed there: 1. Love as He does 2. Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought 3. Serve my neighbors... But as we grow older, why does it seem to be harder? No wonder we are commanded to be like a child - meek, submissive, easily entreated, madaling makipagbati (add whatever child-like characteristic you can think of to this list.) :)

On another note, I previously asked one of the members to draw a portrait of the Savior for us after seeing his drawings during a Sunday School lesson. He happily obliged and was so grateful to even be asked! Before sacrament started, he handed me the package, got so excited so I didn't wait for E and just opened it myself. I already know how it will look like because I chose the picture. I already know what mode he used (ball point pen) so there were really no surprises here. But when I opened it, I just lost it. haha (as always) and then teared up. It was so beautiful! It's the first time we're officially going to have a portrait of the Savior at home so I got excited, grateful as I remember His love and sacrifice for us, thankful to Bro. O. (artist) and perhaps the not-wanting-to-teach-about-Him part I also remembered and felt guilty for; these feelings came to me at all the same time! When Bro. O saw me, he cried too! haha It was a moment of joy and laughter at the same time since sacrament was going to start and here we were tearing up. I immediately wiped my tears, composed myself and took a picture of this astonishing work of art. I now understand why leaders suggest for us to always have a picture of the Savior and the temple so we can be reminded how we should act in His presence. It is a simple yet very effective way of keeping ourselves in check. (I was then able to use this portrait in my lesson.)

Day 2: So today, I am EXTRA grateful for our Savior's love

If you want to order an artwork, contact me for Bro. O's details.

Why write?

I don't know why I suddenly had the urge to write. I haven't written anything for the longest time (aside from previous blog posts). Maybe the last one was even just for a school requirement and I graduated three years ago already. omaygas! Has it been that long?! As a matter of fact, I love writing. I love English courses in school. I actually loved writing assignments but of course not the deadlines. But now, what to write...? I have a couple of ideas written but I think I need to prepare more to provide better content than just writing what comes to my mind like what I am doing right now. I decided to go back to writing since

1. I need to practice my vocabulary and grammar skills because I think I am losing it! I speak Tagalog almost everywhere - work, church and at home. Yes, that's how big the Filipino population in the Bay Area is.
2. After writing this post, I felt good. Real good actually. I guess it was nice to finally let out what has been bothering me. I know I can always talk to E about it but the introvert in me still prefers to talk to, well, me.
3. Reading Facebook notes, blog posts from friends and even strangers gave me a rush of different kinds of emotions. In a good way, that is. I also started reading posts I did back when I had a Multiply account and it was both funny and pathetic (mostly the grammar) and I think I want to keep recreating those feelings. :)

Half way there.

Yesterday, a friend celebrated his 25th birthday with us. It wasn't really his birthday yet but one of the perks of being dayuhan is getting to spend your birthday twice! He was born in the Philippines so it was already the 8th there, therefore Facebook greetings are pouring in a day early.

We were gathered around the dinning table just talking about what we wanted to achieve when we hit the 25 mark. Most of us are in our mid to late twenties now, though I am still half way through my 25th year. Most of us talked about careers, travels, family and the likes and I actually remembered writing a post about aspirations I wanted to achieve but didn't get to the specifics so maybe I will share it here. Posting it publicly might even help keep me in check. I am usually my worst critic so I tend to focus more on what I wasn't able to do instead of celebrating the things I was able to accomplish. This is in no way bragging of what I've done but perhaps, one way of counting my blessings.

Goals:

1. Read more. So far, I've read five books since writing this goal. *sigh* I wish I have more time. Oh wait, I do have time! I just need to make sure I don't waste it. I am on the process of finishing 3 books right now. Do articles from Forbes, Inc. count? I think I spent countless hours reading through their sites already so might as well make it count! haha Can I also count books in The Book of Mormon? That easily gives me 11! Wooo!

2. Travel. Notice it doesn't really say Travel more since I haven't really traveled the US yet after graduating. What can we do?! We were poor college students back then. But since getting my first 'real' job this year, E and I were able to save enough to start. My birthday was spent in Seattle, 3rd anniversary in New York (one of my dream destinations! yay!) and E's birthday back in Hawaii. This Christmas will be spent in Chicago. I also made it a point to drive out of town whenever it is a long weekend. So far we've done Napa, Carmel and Yosemite. What other things can we do that is just a few miles away of SF?

3. Yoga

4. Got my driver's license. Finally!

5. Save an x amount of money. After reading a finance blog, I decided its never too early or too late to keep track and manage our finances so I became extra anal on where every dollar is spent. It's actually paying off! I am happy to report that we're on track on our goal to save x amount in x years. I think it is really important to put a deadline to any goal. It is easily measurable.

6. Finish the Book of Mormon. Again. 5/15. I still have three months so hopefully I do finish it! I just love reading and re-reading this book. Every time I do, I am reminded of the first time I finished it ten years ago (can't believe it's been that long!) and knowing that this book is indeed a book that came from God. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. There are countless lessons I learn from it. Whatever question I have in life, there is an answer found in this book. One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Nephi 9:39: "...to be spiritually-minded is life eternal" or SMILE for short. :)

So far, these are just a few of the things I remember setting a goal for. I can't believe it has been eight months since I wrote these down on my journal. It was also just a few months ago when I heard about the passing of a college batch mate. This made me realize how precious our time really here in mortality is. No one, and I am stressing NO ONE thinks they will pass away that young. That's why we should make every second of it count! Not only for yourself but for the people around you. Make yourself a blessing to others and enjoy life while you're at it.

I AM the DREAMER.

One of my favorite quotes about partnership:

“‎There are dreamers and there are realists in this world, you think the dreamers would find the dreamers and the realists would find the realists, but more often than not the opposite is true. See the dreamers need the realists to keep the dreamers from soaring too close to the sun. And the realists? Well without the dreamers, they might not ever get off the ground.”

*Sino sa amin ang alin?*

Conflicted.

I can't seem to fathom what I really want. I want to do this. I want to do that. Let's live here. Let's live there. Don't get me wrong. I think I am a very grateful person. I almost always see the glass half full but I have never been so conflicted in my life before! It's as if the choices I am making right now are just made halfheartedly. Half my heart tries to see myself living and making a living here. Three quarters of it wants to go home. Yes, home is where the heart is blah blah but the Philippines is still what I call home. It's like I'm here, but I am not really here. ALL decisions I am making, eventually coming home is always a part of it. I am physically here but my mind wonders wanders how that decision affect going back. If I am coming home at all.

There are so many emotions running through my body right now. Should I/we go home? For good? When? Why? I think the last one is always the biggest question. Not mine though. That's a question people around me always ask. Why?! Bakit? Then they start throwing all the bad things about the Philippines. Trapik dun e! Sobrang crowded! Polusyon! Kurakot! All the more reason we should help! I think I've heard it all. After a few semesters in U.P., I think I actually heard more than what I should have. But even after all this, I love the Philippines. Its people. No, it's actually not because my family is there. Of course that's part of it but it's more than that. I love the Filipino people. I can't give you the why. I just do. Nakakuha yata ako ng nationalistic bug  just after attending a few sems in Peyups. If you can name one negative thing about Pinas, I can give you two positive ones. Yesterday, I watched the General Women's Conference and Pres. Uchtdorf mentioned that when we love God, we want to serve Him. It's the same for everything else we love. Our spouse, our family, our friends and for me, the Pinoys. How can I serve them when I'm here? *lupasay sa floor* LOL

One of the happiest experiences I've had was when we organized a fund raising event to benefit the typhoon Haiyan victims. I want to recreate that feeling. Wouldn't it be so great if what you do not only makes you happy but makes other people happy too? "You can do it there too!" Yes, I know. But I believe the Pinoys need it more. There are so many reasons as to why - politically, economically, physically and any -ally you can think of. I refuse to make any comparisons between Tate and Pinas here so let's just leave it at that for now.

So... what can I do while I am here? Every excuse I get, I use it to convince E that we should go home. Samahan pa ng pangungunsinti ng tatay ko. haha But seriously, what is the best way to make use of my time here? I don't even know how end this blog post. What to do next...?

Anthem

The best version of their song I've heard so far. Passion. Passion. Passion pa more.
Ryan Tedder is THE music god. His range is out of this world. And the band, ugh, so awesome.
Replay button abused to the millionth power.

Turning 25:The big thing...or is it?

I heard a few people talk about how turning 25 is a big thing because...well... you're a quarter century old. Aabot ba tayo sa 100?!. A few months ago, I did feel that I needed to do something different with my life but not necessarily something major. I saw this website and started writing things down that I would eventually want to accomplish in life. Ika nga nila, a goal that is not written is only a wish. Not a career or school or anything along that line but just things that I don't have to do but I want to do. Few weeks before my birthday, I followed some tips from that blog and wrote activities that I want to do for this year. I'm keeping those things to myself for now but so far, I'm proud to say that I'm pretty much on top of it and it feels really good to be able to accomplish a lot. The question is, did I need to turn 25 before I reflect on what I wanted in life? Of course the answer is no, but I think that age creates a nice balance between childhood and adulthood; we aren't too young to play around or too old to take life too seriously.

There are just too many reasons to be grateful for aside from being alive 25 years on this earth. Come to think of it, my most treasured blessings are the ones that I didn't even plan!  In fact, the day before my birthday, a job offer that I genuinely wanted so bad was withdrawn. There's a first time for everything right? I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed and irritated at all but I guess I just know that things will be better. It really does help that I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life to know that there is more to everything than how it appears to us now. I may have plans for myself but His plan is always better. Now at 25, I certainly know that to be true. There are just too many events I've experienced to say otherwise. When I was in high school, I was so competitive academically and wanted to see myself as a career woman. We all know that did not happen (or it has not yet happened) but I am living in a city I love, married to an awesome Botchogers eternally and couldn't be much happier with the family I belong to. That is why I asked Emil from now on, I don't want any material things on my birthday (though he still got me Kara's cupcakes and I got myself a gold bracelet---cheater!). So to celebrate my birthday, Emil surprised me with a trip to Seattle for the weekend since we were both working on the 24th. I told him that I just want to travel to see how other people experience everyday life.

POST VALENTINES DAY: Sushi Lunch

After our successful boiling crab night, we decided to have a sushi lunch the day after. We went to Nijiya Market in the morning to get our ingredients then Laren taught Emil how to make some sushi. They made a lot enough for 6-8 people. Ate Sheilla made cucumber salad and I made Miso soup. Yup, straight from the packet. haha. Emil and Laren was so busy so I didn't dare disturb and plus, I was documenting the whole thing. :p

sushi chef Emil

which ones did Laren make and which ones did Emil make?

my plate :)

miso soup I made straight from the packet. hahaha

VALENTINES DAY 2014

This Valentines day, we decided to just stay at home and cook one of our favorites: Boiling Crab! It was a success and (I think) even better because of course, we were able to adjust the recipe to our liking. Master Chef Emil did a great job! Only down side about this is cleaning up after cooking. But overall, it was a great experience to cook and experiment together in the kitchen.

Emil also gave me a fancy bouquet of roses and Ferrero. sosyal. I gave him socks (because he said he needed it) and a tie. haha Now that I am typing this, my gift wasn't romantic at all but just too practical. hahaha.

Side note: This day also marked the day when I wore my first eye glasses!

We cooked two dungeness crab that we got for around $23+ total. We didn't even touch the second one so the price wasn't bad for two meals for two people. 

One was enough for both of us with a bunch of shrimp.

Masterchef Emil about to clean the crab.

Enjoying my delicious dungeness crab with my new glasses 

I didn't even know that I needed one for my right eye (yes only for the right) 

until I went to get my license and failed the vision exam!

SAN FRANCISCO: Twin Peaks

These two hills are the second highest elevation in San Francisco so when you're up here, the view is breath taking. Both day and night views are equally gorgeous. During the day, you can see a great view of the water touching the sky while at night, city lights will impress your eyes, which is one of the things I love about urban life.

view from Twin Peaks during daytime

other side of the ocean is the Oakland area

highlighted street is the Market street

bay bridge on the right

view from Twin Peaks at night

Congratulations Botchogers!

Can't believe we're only gonna be in Hawaii for 12 more days! Our time to leave is getting nearer and nearer!

I accompanied Emil to the Accounting graduation banquet tonight and it was quite an emotional experience. I didn't even expect and neither did he, that he was getting a lot of awards. haha. We already knew that he was a summa because he knows his grades, the grade conscious that he was. We were also aware of the SAP Terp10 certificate because it was the dreaded exam everybody knew about. The others were so unexpected! I am very proud of my hard working, driven, patient, and smart husband!

When we got married, I didn't understand why he was so adamant on getting a job even though he still has more than a year until graduation. I didn't understand why he would need to get an A on almost all of his classes. I would even dare him to miss a class or two but he couldn't (until he became trunky during his last semester. *evil laugh*). I didn't understand why he would need to talk to his teachers after classes to ask more about accounting or just about life when  on the other hand, I was the first one out of the classroom because I was very shy to talk to anyone. haha. Little did I know that these were the fruits of his labor. I am speechless as to what he has accomplished! With the Lord's help, he was able to achieve his dreams. He was able to land the job that he wanted even before he graduates and even though he didn't have much connections to begin with. He did all he can to reach his dreams and because of this, he has inspired a lot of people including me not only to be great in what I do but as I reach for it. He is a great example of someone who always strives for excellence and I am very blessed to have his great example eternally with me. (First photo: Emil and I with Sis. Chen and her husband, Emil's Sis. Chen's teaching assistant. Second photo: Emil and Bro. Waite, one of Emil's favorite accounting teachers)

Bro. Tew: MAJOR FIELD TEST. Many thousand of students take the test every year and it has questions with regarding 9 areas of business and which only one of it is accounting. It is a very general test and we've elected to have our accounting students to take it in their final 400 level class. And this time I am very pleased to announce that two people in our graduate class were especially high. 75th percentile is Amo Li. We also have an award for the top 95th percentile, top 5% in the nation. This is very rare. Given that award at this time is Emil Amante. Woohooo! He scored 181/200.

Bro. Nemrow awards graduates with the Student Recognition award and SAP TERP10 certificate.

(for some reason I can't upload this one here so just click the link to see the video :) )

Bro. Watkins awards Emil the summa cum laude certificate.

Sis. Chen awards him the Outstanding Graduate for Fall 2013. 

Some photos from the banquet:

food for the night: pot roast, garlic mashed potato, 

rolls, teriyaki chicken, flan for dessert

as one of the students mentioned, 

he was the most decorated graduate of the night. hahaha

Congrats Botchogers! So proud of you!!! Love you!!!

Food Adventure: Makino Chaya

Ever since we started dating, I've been wanting to bring Emil to Makino Chaya because I had a great time eating there when I was new in Hawaii. I went to the Aloha Tower branch probably almost 3 years ago and I couldn't believe it was only $20+ for a buffet that has plenty of choices. It was a Saturday lunch that's why it was priced like so but I heard that during weekday lunch, it was only ~$12 which was even better! I brought him to Aloha Tower when we started dating but when we got there, it was already closed!

We yelped it and saw that there was another branch in Aiea but it was so far from where we lived. Good thing this day, we were tasked to send the donations for Haiyan victims at LBC so we took the opportunity to go to Makino Chaya Aiea.

I was so excited because Emil will get to try it now but was disappointed when we got there. Almost all the food was fried and there wasn't much to choose from. Good thing we only paid $12 each for an all you can eat buffet. I liked the desserts and the beef with teriyaki sauce though. Emil said it was okay but he's never gonna come back. haha

Date Night with TVA friends

Last November 15 was our school's Fall Ball. Balls are usually held twice a year during Winter and Fall semesters for students to have fun and date. haha. It was quite expensive this year so we thought we would just go out have dinner and games after like we would always do when we get together at home. We were so excited to bring out friends to Kalapawai since Emil and I really loved that place. There were 12 of us so it was also hard to come up with one place that would please everybody so we thought of Kalapawai because they serve different varieties of food that everybody would like. On the way, I called them to let them know we are coming since there were 12 of us because I called earlier that week and was informed that we couldn't reserve. When I informed them we were coming, they said that they couldn't handle a party of 12 and seat us altogether. I was bummed out but we still decided to show up and maybe show our poor hungry selves so they would seat us together. haha It was a futile attempt. They said the same thing, that they can only seat 6 people max together so we decided to leave.

It was a Friday night and we didn't realize restaurants would be busy. We called a couple of restaurants nearby if they could seat us and most can't or we would have to wait for more than an hour. We couldn't wait any longer because we were soooo hungry! Emil called a place called Prima and they said they could seat us right away so we decided to go there. We checked them on Yelp too and it didn't look so bad. Most of us wanted Italian anyway so it was a go. When we went inside, the menu was very limited and the food didn't look familiar from the Yelp photos. Even so, we tried what sounded familiar and when the food came, I think everybody gasped silently! LOL It was the most disappointing octopus dish I have ever seen it my life!

The only one I liked was the brussel sprouts because it has prosciutto with it. The pizza was thin crust but it was very thin! I like thin crust but this was soooo thin and spicy (wasn't in the menu). Emil got upset and even called the place pretentious.  hahaha. Imagine him not eating even though there was food in front of him just bec he was really upset. By the way, these dishes we needed to split for 6 mouths because they were pricey. Octopus in the middle was around $20. On the good side, the spaghetti was good. It was different and flavorful. Service was okay too.

happy people despite the unfortunate experience. haha

(photo courtesy of Patricia Hernando)

Kualoa Ranch Saturdate

I've been working at the ranch for over a month now and this is the only time I get to go around with Emil since our schedules haven't been matching for a long time. During my days off, he will have most of his classes and when he doesn't work or doesn't have classes, I am at work! It was like this for almost a month so finally, I got to have a Saturday off..

We did Ocean Voyage where you ride a Catamaran and sail by the Kaneohe Bay and the Turtle Reef. Lucky enough, we got to see three turtles! We also did Jungle Expedition where you ride a Pitzgauer jeep and go up the mountains through the rough terrain which was very exciting and adventurous. The view up there was breath taking. Photos that we took did not give it any justice because we only used our phones. haha

By the way, we all got these tours for free. The ranch allows employees to have 7 free individual experience tours a month that they can share with families and friends after their introductory period of three months. I don't have this privilege yet since I've only been working there for a month so I asked one of my co-workers, Sylvana, to hook us up. The only down side about this is you have to stand by, meaning, you have to wait if the tour gets full and if it doesn't then you have a chance to be on it. The Jungle Expedition tour goes every 30 or 45 mins everyday so it wasn't very hard for us to get in one and we chose the earliest Ocean Voyage because I know people don't like to get up early so we got on that pretty easily. haha. They also ask you to check in half an hour before the tour and if you do, most likely you'll get on tours you like.

Picture taking while waiting for our tours to start.

on the Catamaran cruise

Chinaman's hat or Mokoli'i Island behind us

too bad we didn't get to take photos of the turtles because my phone died!

views while on the Jungle Expedition

Thailand in a month!

Nope, not us! My parents are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and as a gift, Emil and I bought them tickets to Thailand next month when it is actually their anniversary. They got married November 18, 1988 and as my father said, "25 years na (silang) nakatiis sa isa't isa" lol. I think that's the secret to their marriage. It's full of humor! This is actually my mom's first out of the country trip since my naughty siblings are old enough to handle themselves (I hope!). My youngest sibling is now a first year high school student so I guess they are old enough to do so.

I was searching the web on things to do in Thailand and as I searched and searched, I just get more and more excited for them! Thailand has a really beautiful architecture. Parang baroque na asian style. Their traditional attire is so colorful as well! Even here in BYUH, for me they are always the best in costume as the details are so intricately put together. Here's some pictures to get you excited as well! (All photos are from my google searching. haha)

these floating vendors are so cool!

just look at those details!

Back to Blogging! (AGAIN!)

So, after tumataginting na 7 months, we (or just me) are back to blogging! A lot of our friends our encouraging especially me to go back to this to keep our memories on file so we don't forget them. It is true that you can really never say that you wont forget something unless you write it. So here I am again! I hope I will be on top of these things this time around.

It was actually nice looking back at the things we wrote. Mostly food since we were actually thinking of keeping this blog specifically for just our food adventures and another one for our personal activities but I think it will a lot of work to keep more than one blog so we will just be keeping this one and post everything in here.

I was thinking of starting a new blog when we move to San Francisco next year to mark our "new adventure" together as new college graduates but I guess keeping this one will be a better idea so we can see where we go coming from our college days. It is also Emil's last semester in BYU-Hawaii and I am really planning on making the most out of our stay here so having this blog around to write everything in would be so memorable to look back to.

Here are a few shots of what I failed to write for the past few months:

Larry and Codi Chua's wedding on March 2, 2013

visiting Sis. Dizon at Temple Square March 3, 2013

meeting Ulbrich cousins at Temple Square

I was the first Omadto relative they met

hiking at Hanauma Bay

hiking Diamond Head with the Nartkers

celebrating our 1st year anniversary with LaDon

Phoebe and Nate's wedding on August 31, 2013