Friday, February 27, 2009

Picture Tag

Jessica blog/photo tagged me.

Directions:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same. No cheating, cropping, editing, etc.


I'm on the bottom, right hand side in the black shirt and jeans.
Taken in front of the fountain at Revelle Plaza, UCSD.

This picture is of my speech class that I took over the summer of 2007 at UCSD. Our teacher was pregnant and due a few weeks after class terminated, and was going on maternity leave. We all loved our class, so we surprised her and chipped in to buy her baby a onesie with the UCSD logo on it, along with a card with this picture to remember us.

I don't know who to tag. So if you read this, and have a blog, then I tag you! Or do it on your Facebook or MySpace!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Happy Birthday Charity!


Happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday dear Charity,
happy birthday to you!

If you didn't get that, that was me singing for you Charity. But I don't think you'd want me to do it in real life, I still want you to like me as a friend ... hah!

We went out for lunch to Krishna's, an Indian restuarant with yummy curry. (Just read Charity's blog for details and more pictures. Leave a comment for her wishing her Happy Birthday ... even if you don't know her!) That's Charity above on the right in the striped shirt.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Tita Bah and Tito Egay's Visit

I mentioned earlier that we had our first visitors, Tita Bah and Tito Egay! Before coming to Okinawa, they'd tell Joey and I stories of when they used to live here, making us look forward to Oki life. Boy, were they right!


They arrived on Saturday, February 14th and the first place they wanted to see was Ya-cha-bo's! They have been telling us to eat at this place ever since we landed last year, but never found it because it's one of those hole-in-the-wall kind of places. Tita Bah was telling us that when they lived here, they used to eat there every week! The restaurant has been in business for 35 years, so it must be that good! Before we even ordered, the owner said that she remembered Tito Egay and Tita Bah, and their two sons ... 14 years later! How crazy is that!


The next day was filled with visiting sites, and of course, shopping. One stop was at Zukeran Elementary where their sons went to school. Tito Egay said that the paint and buildings are exactly the same. Is that a good or bad thing?


Then, we drove around, and around, and around to find their old house. The person living there was so nice to let us roam her property, take pictures of her house, and talk to us a bit. They said house hasn't changed either.


On Monday, we took Tito Egay and Tita Bah to Churaumi Aquarium in Nago. Unfortunately it rained, so we weren't able to see the outdoor dolphin show. Every time Joey and I go or attempt to go to the aquarium, it rains - and the dolphin show is the only part that we haven't seen!


On the way back home, we stop by the Nago Pineapple Park. Joey said he practically ate a whole pineapple at the all-you-can-eat-pineapple station.

The rest of their days on the island were spent shopping, Tito Egay spending time with friends still on the island, Tita Bah cooking us enough food to last a year, and just relaxing. Before they left, we made one more stop to Ya-cha-bo's for their last meal.

Their visit here makes me want to take pictures of everything - our favorites restaurant, our home, and places we frequent. So that when we come back, we can see how much has or hasn't changed. Come again Tito Egay and Tita Bah, and soon!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

One Year Continued ...

It's been one year already! I still can't believe how fast time has gone. I can honestly say that this past year has been the most exciting and happiest year of my life!

Joey is an amazing person. Everyone who knows him knows that he is absolutely wonderful and would go out of his way to help anybody and everybody; such a selfless person. It's impossible to get mad at him because 1) he never gets mad, 2) he has a gentle, kind heart and 3) he's a gentleman.


We had a pre-Valentine's and pre-Anniversary celebration at Okuma last week, and so, we didn't have much planned for our actual Anniversary day. We started the day with Joey opening his present. For First Year Wedding Anniversary gifts, the traditional gift is 'paper' and the modern gift is a 'clock'. I found ideas online about a Monopoly game called Lovopoly, and decided to make it myself. I used pictures and places where Joey and I lived and/or spent time together. He had no clue! And Joey gave me all the scrapbooking supplies a couple of weeks ago to make all that and more.

During the day, we went to Churaumi Aquarium and the Nago Pineapple Park with Tito Egay and Tita Bah (pictures to come later). At night for dessert, we had the infamous one year old wedding cake.


Yes, it's supposed to be red. It's red velvet cake! I didn't taste bad, just a little dry. Joey and I shared one slice and barely finished half of it. After Tita Bah took her slice, we threw it away. It was just a whole lotta cake that we weren't going to eat! Good news: it was edible and no one got sick, and we have more space in our freezer!

Happy Anniversary again Joey! Can't wait for more years to come. I love you!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Our One Year

My Baby,

We did it, Happy One Year Wedding Anniversary! One down and a lifetime to go! I love you more than you know! Now, time to eat our *cake!

Love, Wifey

*Joey and I saved the top of our wedding cake, froze it, brought it over to Japan, and it's been sitting in our freezer ever since. Time to eat it! Who thought of that tradition to eat your original wedding cake on your 1st year anniversary? If it's not good, then it's good thing Tita Bah is here cause she made our wedding cake, and can make another one if we ask her. =)

Our First Visitors

When we got back from Okuma on Tuesday, we get a call from Tito Egay and Tita Bah saying that they're coming to Okinawa on a Space-A Flight on the weekend. Woohoo our first visitors!

They lived here in Oki for two separate tours and are glad to be back after 14 years. We took them around to places they used to eat, places they used to shop, their old home, the elementary school their kids went to, and etc.

I'll post pictures later!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!

This week, Joey and I went ice skating! I was so excited to go ice skating, but I can't ice skate ... at all. I've only been ice skating once or twice, which ended up in cuts and bruises.

Joey, Mr. Ice-skating-is-easy, tried to teach me in the two hours we were there. When I first stepped onto the ice, I grabbed the railing and one of the Japanese girls there laughed and told me kowai, meaning scary. Yup, she was right. The result: I can go probably ~10-20 feet on my own, then stumble. Basically, I stayed along the rails the whole time while Joey skated around the rink.

Joey felt all special for about an hour of skating because he was the best one out there (there were about 14 people at the rink), then a couple of performance ice skaters came, out-skating Joey - and one of them was around seven years old!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I'm off to get ready for my date tonight ... that's Joey of course!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Okuma

Joey and I just got back from an amazing weekend! We went to Okuma Resort in Northern Okinawa to kick start our celebration for our First Year Wedding Anniversary!

At Okuma we rented out the Private Beach Cottage, hence we had a private beach all to ourselves. It's far off from the regular camping areas, so it truly felt like we were the only two on the island.


Our cute, little cottage.

Our cozy cottage.

Yes, the shower is in the room and separated by a curtain.
But come on, it's a cottage for couples!

I had to show you a picture of the toilet, there's a sink on top!
Every time you flush, clean water pours out for you to wash your hands and empties out into the toilet bowl.
And no, I didn't use it. It's too weird.

Looking out to our beach from our porch.

Joey buried me in the sand and made me into a mermaid.

The second best thing about the cottage (the first being the private beach)
was the golf cart we got to drive around.

Besides playing on the beach, there are so many activities to do at Okuma! We couldn't even do all the things we wanted to do on our list in the couple of days we stayed there. It's February, so there were very few families at Okuma, which is a good thing because there was no wait for activities. And, it was a little sunny, but windy, so the water activities were limited.
The garden maze

We played tennis, and it was my first time. I wasn't good, I was horrible. I kept hitting the tennis ball over the fence, and even managed to get it stuck in the tree.
Joey throwing up his racket to get the tennis ball stuck, the tiny bright green dot, in the tree.

Batting cages

Of all the water activities, we were able to go on a Glass Bottom Boat. It was fun, a little nauseating, but I still think snorkeling is better - maybe scuba diving, once I get certified.

Glass bottom boat

Putt-putt golf

The game room

I already miss it. Barbecuing and eating smores on the beach, hearing the waves at night to put us to sleep, and playing in the sand like we were five years old again ... Okuma, we will miss you and we'll be back!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Close to My Heart

I have a job ... kinda! I'm a Consultant for Close to My Heart, which is a scrapbook and stamp company. I fell in love with their products immediately, especially their stamping products.

Joey bought me a few scrapbooking supplies a couple of years ago, but I never kept up with it. A few months ago I went to a friends house, another Consultant, where she showed me so many techniques for scrapping and making cards. I was never a stamping-type of person, but once she showed me her collection, I made my choice to sign-up as a Consultant.

My first project using my new products is to make my Wedding Album! Joey and I never got the traditional white Wedding Album, so I thought it'd fun to customize it myself. Plus, it'd be so much fun going through our wedding pictures to celebrate our 1st Year Wedding Anniversary - which is this month!

Are you into scrapbooking, stamping, or card making? Not sure what it is, but want to know more? Want to host a home gathering and receive free gifts? Seen our products and want to order? Want a free catalog (limited supply)? Thinking about being a Consultant for Close to My Heart? Message me!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

All the Little Things ...

Little things make me happy. I got my People magazine and wedding pictures in the mail - it only took 11 months for me to order them! Also, I went to get gas for my car, and saw that the gas prices fell to $1.76 from $2.43. When did that happen?

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Mt. Yaedake Cherry Blossom Festival

Yesterday, Joey and I made our way up to Mt. Yaedake to the Cherry Blossom Festival and they were beautiful! We has such a great time, plus we got to use our new camera!

We arrived at the festival around noon, just in time for lunch. We shared a plate of yakisoba, okonomiyaki - a Japanese casserole/pancake, takoyaki, and a side of fried squid. Then, some mochi for a snack. Yummy!

Beautiful!

I made Joey pose in front of this tree, so here's his "man" pose.

The color is so vibrant!
This was the color of our Cherry Blossom theme at our Wedding last year.

I love the feature on our camera that focuses the center and blurs out the background!

Before we left, we made sure to taste some Cherry Blossom Gelato.
It tastes like vanilla gelato with a hint of strawberry, and chopped up cherry blossoms mixed in.

Even the bridge was lined with cherry blossoms!

It's mikan (orange) season, so instead of mikan picking,
we decided to just buy bags full from one of the vendors on the side of the road on the way home.