Hello, hello!
Here is another vloggy for the bloggy!
As always, we had a blast visiting Oregon.
And as always, we mainly spent our time going out to eat 😛
Thanks for watching 🙂
Category: Lifestyle
Another short video on my recent visit to Australia
Soooo I am learning how to balance capturing enough blog/vlog content AND enjoying the moment/being present. So much so, that I forgot to capture footage for Sydney ENTIRELY >.< But I still hope you enjoy it anyway hehe.
A Heart for Heaven (em) Goes Abroad
Hi everyone! This is my first vlog attempt for this blog! Woohoo!
Enjoy 🙂
Two, Just Want to be With You
It’s that time for another sappy anniversary posssssttt.
Okay, not sappy at all for me, but perhaps it is for you :p
So here goes!
I can’t believe it’s been two years since I married this incredible young man. We are both blessed beyond belief.
The morning of our anniversary, I made him these cute little guys from an idea I found on Pinterest (Ohhh, Pinterest <3)
At night we enjoyed a fantastically delicious dinner at Shojin at Little Toko in DTLA. Incredible. Worth it. And did I mention entirely vegan!? I could have easily eaten another order of the potstickers. And I was pleasantly surprised they had several non-alcoholic and caffeine-free drink/tea options. There was a no cell phone policy, so I didn’t take any photos of the food. Guess you’ll have to try it yourself 😉
Just as in times prior, we waited for winter break in December to take off and spend a few days together up in Oregon.
We flew from LAX to PDX and indulged in the pho and bánh mì at Bambuza ( it’s in the airport, and we’ve been longing for that vegan pho since last year hehe.)
From Portland we drove to Sisters, which took longer than anticipated because there was so much snow and we SoCal folk had never driven in snow before ( kuddos to my husband for killing it out there.)
We made it just in time to check in at Five Pine, and then drive a half hour to Bend to catch a Journey to Bethlehem production at a local church. It was such a crisp, clear, and beautiful evening. One day I’ll invest in a camera that can actually capture the essence of the moon that was out that night.
After the production we went to grab a bite at Laughing Planet. Plantains in a burrito!? Sounded odd to me, but it was delicious.
We went snowboarding the first year and snow shoeing last year, so we wanted to plan another snow activity this time around. He started feeling a little sick and we didn’t want to push it, so we were fine driving to and from Bend, shopping at Natural Grocers ( I could live there), and spending a snowed-in night eating pizza ( one of the few places open that night because of the snow!), playing board games ( I won), and watching Shark Tank ( it’s hard to just watch one episode…). We even got to see carol singers at Old Mill District. Magical.
Another wonderful time spent in Sisters, OR. I thank God we are able to take trips like this. Everything was a highlight those few days, and I wasn’t ready to come home. I can go on about the time we spent there, but I’ll leave you all with this clip of our trip instead!
10 Things to Talk About at Your 10 Year Reunion
Without reverting to basic small talk
My husband and I graduated the same year from the same high school. My in-laws still live in the same neighborhood, so after leaving there one day we decided to stop by that old campus of ours.
I had visited the campus in past times before, but those visits never quite hit me like this visit did; I didn’t expect to feel the wave of nostalgia that I felt.
Funny, when people have asked me if I would go to my ten year high school reunion, I’d scoff and say,” Yeah right!”
But being on campus, I actually considered changing my mind. And wouldn’t you know it, my ten year high school reunion just happens to be coming up in 2017.
It’s like the reunion planning universe just knew people would feel nostalgic at the ten year mark…
So thinking about a ten year reunion, I’m thinking about what I would ask those old classmates of mine.
Would I be able to avoid the common small talk?
I once asked two people (at different occasions) how they’ve been and what they’ve been up to. Responses: “(Chuckle) Oh you know, just busy with work and school.”
I think they chuckled because they get that same question all the time, and give the same answers all the time. Small talk is cheap. From then I decided to ask better, thought-provoking questions. Questions that will require me to really listen and require them to dig deeper for responses. No more being basic and boring.
But what are those questions?
I put this into practice the other day when I said to the person, “Okay, don’t talk to me about school or work. What do you like to do for fun?” I think I caught him off guard, but got my desired results nonetheless.
So here are my tips on ten things to ask at your ten year reunion (that don’t directly have to do with work or school).
- What do you like to do for fun?
- Where have you travelled in the last year/ Where was the last place you travelled?
- What does your dream house look like?
- What advice would you give to people graduating high school?
- What were your thoughts when you got the invitation for the reunion?
- Were you listening to anything on the car ride over here? If so, what was it?
- Are you still interested in [blank] like you were in high school?
- What would I find out about you by looking at your Pinterest boards?
- What are you currently reading?
- So MySpace was big in our day. What has been your favorite social media platform so far, and why?
This list is by no means exhaustive. I’m just really trying to think of things that may be outside the box in order to keep things interesting.
It makes me a little nervous thinking about a reunion. Since this is a faith-based blog after all, I have to address the idea of a reunion from the eyes of a believer in Christ. I am a lot different than I was then. My husband and I both. Like, night and day different. How would we use this reunion as a way to witness? The neutral side of me would find ways to avoid talking about anything that has to do with “religion” (because I don’t want to be dubbed a weirdo, ya know). And being neutral in this situation can be so easy! Man, even talking about the bad things I did in my past could be so easy, but I know those past things are not things I want to highlight anymore.
But the only thing “neutral” about a Christian lifestyle is avoiding the wrong kind of extremes, and wanting peace and love for everyone.
For those of you who don’t believe in the Christian God, would you immediately tune out at the mere mention of Christianity? If so, why?
So how would I be the witness I need to be without being an overbearing religious weirdo?
How do I be a light in this world, even amongst people who may not want that light?
If I do decide to go to our reunion, let’s just hope the music isn’t blaring because my voice does not carry well in loud places lol.
Until next,
em
Oh, Winter Comes
So I’m in bed right now, typing away at this little blog post before I catch some zzz ( does anyone know where “catch some z’s “originated? lol), trying to be comfy and cozy though incidentally today was quite warm for being January. But it’s SoCal, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
For some reason, we sweet southern Californians like to forget about winter as soon as the holidays are over…
Uhhh, no, not me. Need I remind folks that winter started less than a month ago??
All this beach-y, bikini-ready,”nicer weather” talk can wait. I’m in NO RUSH to get to spring, and even less so, summer. Bleh.
So I was MORE than happy to spend some vacation time in central Oregon with my honey. The snow and mountain air is totally my thing, totally our thing. We went last year for our honeymoon, and this year we went to celebrate our one year. I think we’ll be making this a yearly occurance 😉
Highlights of the trip?
Umm, EVERYTHING.
Just chillin’ with some deer. No big.
I’m one to get really cutesy when I see animals, usually spewing out: “Awwww look at that cute little [blank].” Possum? Cute. Snake? Cute. Everything is cute.
Anywayssss….
Everyone we met in OR was extremely nice, so it was no surprise to find a sticker on a tip jar that read: Be Nice, You’re in Oregon.
I love that! Why can’t Angelenos been known for their niceness?? As soon as we landed back in LAX, we instantly felt the change in vibe 😥
Upon arrival, our taste buds ruled our decision making. We’ve been aching for Next Level Burger since last year, so naturally, that’s the first place we wanted to go.
And then a few hours later, sweet little Angeline’s in Sisters, OR. I mean, just LOOK at this food.
Actually, our taste buds ruled pretty much the entire trip. Pizza run at 9 p.m.? Suuuureeee. A huge bag of popcorn to accompany our walk back to the cabin? Suuuureee.
Northern Thai food at this rad little restaurant downtown that our tour guide recommended? Suuuuure.
I really fell in love with Downtown Bend. The ambiance was unbeatable. I seriously cannot wait to go back. Last year we went snowboarding on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor, but husband and I decided we wanted to do something a little less extreme, yet still have some fun in the snow. I refuse to ski, so we looked into snow shoeing. What is that, you may ask? It’s basically snow hiking, with special, odd-looking shoes that enable you to trek through all that powder. The sun was shining so perfectly against the snow, everything around us glittered. It was so beautiful.Being immersed in the snow and mountains like that is amazing. Perfect quiet, perfect air, perfect weather. We walked knee-deep in snow, so the walk was still quite vigorous, but it was so worth it. I even lost a glove in all the excitement. My hope is that a little high desert critter is using it for warmth >.<
And I haven’t even mentioned the tax-free shopping( I made a pit stop at Natural Grocers for some local organic lip balm) and the totally awesome-yet-kind-of-awkward-to-get-used-to gas pump attendants.
I love Oregon.
One, You’re Like a Dream
I was a total spaz today.
Not sure why…
I woke up pretty early to make sure I had time to blog, because I’ve been putting it off since Monday!
But of course, there are always things for me to do, it doesn’t end! I’m not at all complaining, because I love being a housewife (and reader, and blogger, and baby sitter, and bible bookworm, and church teacher, potluck planner, etc., just to name a few 😉 )
The two hour time I allotted myself to run errands turned into closer to three, and I was making wrong turns, doing dumb things, asking dumb questions (Ummm, Siri, how many cups make a pound?) and acting completely awkward at the market (which I always tend to do anyway lol). ‘:)
I don’t know what it is about shopping and money and grocery store aisles that kinda spaz me out…I need to work on that.
I think I think about things too much, and that ends up wasting time…AND I HATE WASTING TIME. I’m a conundrum…hmm.
I also think spend to many minutes on my phone. I wonder how I would do without it for a week…
ANYWAY. Speaking of being a wife, this week happens to be our one year anniversary. Crazy! It’s been such a blast. I’ll spare all the details of our first year, but I won’t spare any details of how we celebrated!
Okay okay, so I’ll try to keep it short 😉
Sunday we had an amazingly fun photo op by Michael Alegre Media. We took photos at our old school (where we met) and recreated an old photo.
While we were out, I asked my in-laws to come to our place to decorate the living room with balloons with photos of our first year attached to each string. Surprise!
Then on Monday morning I snuck out to hide clues at some of our favorite places for a scavenger hunt, which was totally fun to plan. Surprise, surprise!
I have yet to master the flat lay, but here’s the idea:
We then took a trip to the place we got married and reminisced :’)
We even picked up a one year anniversary cake from our wedding cake baker too! (Yeah, that whole saving the top part in the freezer for a year thing didn’t work out so well.) Still super special and super yum.
Came back home to some Netflix and chill (hold your snickering, we actually watched Netflix and chilled.)
And topped all this celebrating off with a dinner date at Crossroads Kitchen.
Super fun, super yum, super not-enough-time-in-the-day to enjoy my amazing husband.
Hope this was sort of as fun for you to read as it was for me to write 😉
Until next,
Hello, September
Hello there, friends.
Well, this month has been crazy busy and super awesome. Why, you may wonder? Well, it just so happens that it’s my birthday month (yay), and I am not one to just celebrate a day—Oh no, I take the whoooleee month (teehee). So to celebrate turning 26, my husband and I planned a road trip up the California coast for the first weekend in September. There were a few bumps along the way, patience was tried, and I got grumpy a few of the nights (I get cranky when I’m tired ^.^) BUT despite the minor problems, we had a lot of fun and made some more memories to our ever-growing adventure book.
- Squash Tower at Heirloom Expo in Santa Rosa,CA
I can’t believe it’s almost a year since we’ve been married! I have been blessed beyond belief with the young man of my dreams.
The rest of the month included things like Disneyland, my birthday dinner with family, a visit from Mom, Granny, and G-pa from Texas, church activities, and baby-sitting. Whew!
And tomorrow marks my dad’s birthday, so the celebration continues into October!
I absolutely love autumn, and I am so anxious for cooler weather to hit dry SoCal—it’s felt like summer since spring!
Okie dokie, then: what does October have in store? Aside from a visit to the pumpkin patch (if I can keep convincing my husband it’ll be worth the drive hehe), I will be taking care of a lot of new and exciting responsibilities. Since I’ve been a stay-at-home wife since I left my full-time job in June, I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I wanted and needed to do.
Now, some people may think I am on vacation 24/7 since I don’t have a job, but much on the contrary!
I have lists of things to do each day to ensure I maintain order and cleanliness in my home, while also making sure I spend time with God, prepare my lesson for my class, read substantial learning books, practice language skills, take time to write, prepare meals, take care of our cat, and be ready to greet my husband when he arrives home.
I’m telling you, I still look forward to weekend relaxation!
I am so happy that I am so less stressed and irritable now that I’m home and not in an office, and I have been inspired to follow my dreams and my passions.
Amen to that!
A Heart for Heaven 
