Random Thoughts
Mood:  silly
Its been a strange week...! Do you ever have one of those days where you think about the stupid things that happened to you and can't stop laughing at yourself. I'm sitting in my car.. and I just can't stop laughing my head off. Anyone who saw me would have thought I'm some weirdo.. :) :)

Hmm so what I was laughing at. One evening after dinner on my own (francis was working a little late) and I was watching tv by myself. Good thing I had finished cooking dinner and finished eating. Well we had a black out. Its quite scary to actually be in black out all by yourself. I'm so glad I have my two dogs to keep me company so I don't feel completely alone. I had to search for our butane lighter and I started lighting all the candles that are already out. Than I found the box of candles and just started burning a whole bunch. Francis walked in shortly after. Its actually quite romantic to be in the dark with only candles... :) :) Anyways.. I was lighting this one candle that was a set of three and I didn't realize it but my hair had caught on fire. I heard something sizzling but just assumed it was the candles sizzling. The next thing I knew my honey is freaking out trying to blow out my hair. He got all freaked out that my face could have been burnt and I could have been really hurt. It wasn't a big deal to me. I was even phased by it. My hair did get burnt off a bit but I was fine... :) :) Everytime I think about it.. I can't stop laughing.

Than that same night... when we were sleeping... I actually was having a dream where I was having an arguement with my mom in Japanese. I was yelling my dream at her in Japanese and I literally was yelling in real life right to Francis's face and woke him up. I woke up and realized what had happened and thought it was so funny. I think I scared my honey...!

Anyways... this weekend, we went to Seattle to go cross border shopping. It was the grey cup finals so there was the grey cup parade that went right by our place. Sometimes I love living down town because there is always so much action. We literally could just walk down with our Pj's and see the parade. Shinobu and I got bored pretty fast ( so like us) so we went in but Francis stayed and actually saw Pamela Anderson pass by. We left shortly after down to the States and met up with my friend Steph...! K.. I'm getting off on a tangent.

So anyways... don't you hate it when you can't find something and it drives you nuts until you find it. Well I had lost my scarf this weekend. I had worn it to my sisters and I swear that I remember seeing it sitting in Francis's car and that I didn't bring it into her house and thats the last I remembered. SO on our way to Seattle.. I really wanted to find it but couldn't. All weekend.. it bothered me and was so sad I lost my scarf and tried to trace my steps back. The only thing I could think of was that I dropped it on our way to the grocery store or something. We had stopped by Save-on on our way home and I don't remember wearing it. Anyways.. when I got home from Seattle, I looked all over the house again. Where did it disappear to. Finally I decided to phone my sister today to ask and STUPID ME... I had forgotten it there. Don't you hate when you do that. I swear I didn't bring it into her house and was so sure of it... and it would have saved me all that trouble if I had just thought of calling and asking. Well I'm glad I found my scarf.. :) :)

Ok that's all for today!

Old Friends
The neatest thing happened to me the other day. Things truly do happen for a reason sometimes. I was driving home from work and one of the streets was closed off because of the Lion's Game. I tried to turn on another street home but it was backed up really bad SO I decided to go around by T&T, around the stadium to go back home. Passing by T&T, I impulsively decided to shop there and get some groceries. I got home and decided to take mocha and yuki for a walk. Normally I would walk the dogs on the seawall and I would be walking out much earlier because I don't shop for groceries much after work. But this day, I happened to do things differently. Anyways.., I walked the dogs towards the bank to deposit my some cheques and as I was crossing the street... "I heard my full name". I'm so bad because if it wasn't for her noticing, I probably would of walked right passed her. I'm so unaware of my surroundings... and if I ever walk past you and ignore you, its not because I'm a snob... I just don't notice things around me. I don't know why. My honey makes fun of me all the time...! I could be driving down a street every day for a year and not notice if a new building went up or something has changed. Sometimes I wonder where my brain is... kind of scary to think. But my honey is the opposite, he notices everything and maybe that's a good thing since i don't.. :)

Ok so back to my friend who called out my name. This was a good friend from highschool who I ended up losing touch with. I haven't seen or heard from her in 12 to 13 years. We must have looked so stupid on the middle of the street but it was such an exciting moment for us. I just couldn't believe after all these years..., we would cross paths again and we just kept hugging each other. She has been living in Vancouver for 2 1/2 years now and lives near the area and not once did I bump into her but this particular day we did...! We exchanged contact info and plan to get together to catch up. We have alot of catching up to do. The funny thing is she thinks I look exactly the same.... haven't changed at all. She's not the first person has said that to me. One time I ran into a girl who was from my elementary school. That is more amazing because apparently she went to my elementary school and I don't remember her at all BUT she remembered me after 20 years or more. And she knew my name and my older sister's name and about my family business and she said "that my face looks exactly the same" and it looks like I just got taller. I wasn't sure if I should take that as a compliment BUT the last time I saw her, I was like 7 years old.... so how could I look exactly the same... :)

Anyways.. back to my story. Its just neat how I did things so different that night. I would have never gone to T&T if the road wasn't closed, I would have never been walking that late, if I didn't go to T&T and that's when I happened to bump into my old friend. I truly believe things happen for a reason and God must have had a hand in us bumping into each other. So that makes me think about how my husband and I met. I remember I met him at a retreat for the 1st time and I wasn't supposed to go. I didn't want to go and someone convinced me to go last minute but imagine if I had never gone. My honey was living in a completely different city so our paths may have not crossed. It just makes me realize how God has a hand in all our friendships and relationships.

Doggy Obsession
I'm a little bit extreme when it comes to the love for my dogs. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my two dogs. They are the love, light and joy in my life now.. :) Yes and my honey too. Often, I forget to mention that... hee, hee! But you don't understand until you are a dog owner, how much you can love your pets. They are like my kids and I enjoy coming home every day knowing they are waiting for me. I look forward to every lunch hour so I can play and cuddle with them and take them on their walks. I'm so blessed and thankful for them. They can cheer me up and brighten my day when I'm sad. I was told once that dogs can sense your emotions and when I'm crying..., my dogs always come cuddling to lick away my tears.. :) We bought Yuki this past January at one of my tough times in my life and she was the best decision. My honey knew exactly what I needed to cheer me up.. :) So thank you!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways, my honey and I went to this store on Davie the other day that had all the cutuest little things for dogs. They had cute outfits, leashes, beds, treats, shampoos/conditioners.......... everything to spoil your dog. And I wished I could of bought everything in there. If money was not an object, I would probably make a doggy room and buy that entire store. Maybe when I get into a house, I may do that and slowly accumulate some of that stuff (if my honey would allow me too.. hee, hee..) I would love to have a closet for my dogs with little outfits and everything. I know I'm just dreaming...! But they have the cutest little beds and water bowls and everything. I know I'm crazy... :) But I did spoil Yuki a bit. She's been wearing mocha's old harness and leash that's all old and ugly. And the other day the harness broke - I think she chewed through it too. So that's what made us go to this store. I ended up buying her a cute pink leather harness and matching leash and she looks like a little princess.. :) :) SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to get mocha one now too but they aren't cheap so maybe we'll wait until next month.

I love where we live in the summer and I just enjoy taking the dogs out for a walk so much.. :) :) I'm such a yuppy now with my two little prince/princess dogs.. :):)

Anyways.................. no deep thoughts today just wanted to share a little bit about my obsession.. :)

Here is a picture of my babies. Yuki is much bigger now and is the same size as mocha.. :)

Thinking Positive
Mood:  happy
Just a cute attachment I got once that I thought I'd share that has to do with positive thinking (kind of links back to what I was talking about yesterday). There are supposed to be cute little frog pictures with it but I can't seem to get it to show up SO this will have to do:

Life's lesson No. 1
There once was a bunch of tiny frogs,
..who arranged a running competition.
The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.
A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants...
The race began...
Honestly...No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.
You heard statements such as:

"Oh, WAY too difficult!!! " They will NEVER make it to the top!!!"

or:

"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!!!"

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one...Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher...

The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!!!"
More tiny frogs got tired and gave up...But ONE continued higher and higher and higher...

This one wouldn't give up!!!

At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?
A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?

It turned out...That the winner was DEAF!!!

The wisdom of this story is: NEVER listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic...
Because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you... the ones you have in your heart!!!

Always think of the power words have. Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!!!

Therefore: ALWAYS be...POSITIVE!!!
And above all: Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you can not fulfill your dreams!!!

Always think:
I can do this!!!
Give this to some "tiny frogs" you care about.
Give them some motivation!!!
Don't tell people how Big your dream is. Just go and do it !

Making the best of things!
Mood:  energetic
What yucky weather this summer is turning out to be. Its funny how we feel like our summer is ruined from the rain. We expect things to be so perfect and if its not, we let it affect our attitudes. This weekend was a good reminder that even though things don't start off right.., things do end up working out and if you make the best of it, you can end up having a great time.

Here is my weekend:

My honey and I had a camping trip planned this weekend. I woke Friday morning and the weather was bad. It was dreary, rainy and cold. Naturally I got sad and I thought, our camping trip is ruined now.. :( Part of me didn't even want to go and wished we could cancel it (but the site was already paid for and we were meeting another couple the next day there as well). Why do we judge what is going to happen or predetermine by circumstances? Its funny how I'm the optimistic one usually but when I'm not its neat how when one isn't, somehow the other is their to pick each other up.. :)

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up

Its just makes me realize how lucky I am to found my life partner and soul mate...! Life is truly full of its ups and downs for us BUT I'm so grateful for that I have someone to go on the roller coaster ride with. My husband is truly my rock and makes this ride so worth while because he's there in our highs but is there to hold and comfort me when things are rough.

Anyways on to my story...! I was talking to him all sad on the phone from work. "Look honey, look at the weather, its so yucky!" He's like "its OK Boo (my little nick name)..., we'll still have a good time rain or shine". He's like remember before we got married, we used to talk about going camping all the time. And now we finally get to do it and he's just happy we can spend the weekend outdoors together with our two little babies (Yuki and mocha). I remember my honey being impressed and excited, he finally met a girl who loves camping and that loved the outdoors and didn't mind getting dirty and grungy... :) We talked about camping and doing all these outdoor things but he and I never had a chance to go much because of his previous job. He used to work in hotels and he had to work every weekend. This is our first year and first summer where we finally have every weekend off together and it feels like we are on vacation every week now.. :) :) I know its not a big deal to most people to actually have weekends and holiday's off. Most of my time with my honey, I never had weekends off together. I was so used to spending them on my own. Its funny when things come easy we take things for granted. Now we cherish every moment and every weekend we have together and we truly try to make the most of it.. :)

Anyways..I'm off on a tangent again. I tend to do that a lot! Anyways, Friday if you noticed by the end of the day... the rain stopped and you could even seen some sky amongst the clouds.. :) :) So I was all happy again the weather was turning out to be good. Than as we drove nearer to Chilliwack, you could see it getting darker and darker. By the time, we reached the campsite, it was pouring and we had to set up tent in the rain. What I loved about my honey is that he kept being positive and encouraging. He's like it's ok..., we just have to get the tent up. We finally did and it wasn't so bad. And we ended up having a great time. I love the outdoors and there are some great aspects to rain. We can sit inside the tent and cuddle (playing games and talking), there is a crispness/freshness to the air when it rains... and I like the sound of the rain falling on our tent. By the next morning, the rain stopped and we ended up having a great time. I think what I love about camping the most is to get away from the city... away from all the noise, telephones, TVs... all our distractions. And its just us and nature and where you feel the presence of God more. I think in our every day lives.., we often get too distracted and sometimes its nice to just get away from it all. :) :)

So even though the weather didn't start out right, things ended up turning out great...! So next time if circumstances are against you.. embrace it and make the most of it. It may just look that way but it may end up turning out beautiful. And even if it doesn't, you may just end up having the best time.. :) even if things seem to be working against you. We came back and told some friends and it hit me again how lucky I am to have such a positive husband. Most people said to me "if it was me, we would be turning back". "Or if it was me, we would have gotten a hotel"..... And all I could think about was how lucky I am that my husband doesn't give up because things are bad and how he can try to make the best of any situation. SO this was a good lesson for life as well. I think life is full of its ups and downs and things don't always go your way.... but its important to not give up and do try to make the best of things. And when you do, life will always turn out much better than you anticipate.. :) :) We can't control circumstances in our lives but we can control our attitudes. A positive attitude can go such a long way... :)

Long Drive Home
Mood:  chatty
We just came back from a great weekend from Shuswap Lake. We left on Friday morning and arrived in our destination in about 4 hours... :) :) Shuswap Lake is a big lake near Sicamous and Salmon Arm - about 1/2 way between Calgary and Vancouver and why we chose to go there. My little sister from Calgary and her boyfriend came to meet up with us.. :) :)

We had a great time relaxing, tanning on the beach, eating very well (it was cherry season.. YUM) and you got to love those smors and roasted camp fire marshmallows mmmm...! We even bought freshly made home made pie that people were selling on the stands and warmed it with tin foil in the fire. It was the best pie ever!! mmmm We even went tubing (where a boat pulls you while you are on a big tube). It was my honey's first time tubing but we had a blast although we got some bruises from it. I went on with my honey and that was a bad idea.. :) My honey is about 65lbs heavier than I am so when we got knocked around the waves... it was not fun having any part of his body land on me and than we ended up flipping.... because the weight was unbalanced.. :) :) My honey when in first and I was underneath the tube....for awhile before I was able to get air... :) :) Good thing the lake was pretty warm... But we still had fun! I think I enjoy watching tubing more than actually being on it. Afterwards, my little sister was being a bit cocky so her boyfriend pushed his friend to give her some big waves. He brewed some big waves and plowed right in the middle as we watched my little sister got up and down like a little rag doll and finally totally getting flipped off... :) :) We had some dinner at A&W together and parted with them around 4 pm.

Our drive home took a lot longer than our drive there. On top of the bad traffic (everyone coming back from the long weekend), there was a huge accident near Hope that backed up the highway for miles. It was stop and go for at least 45 minutes as we sat in the car just wasting time. My honey noticed that most people were in good spirits (probably from a nice long weekend), had their windows rolled down, music going... my dogs got to stick their faces outside while we passed other dogs too.. and it was like people watching from the cars as different cars would pull up beside us.. :) :) The lane next to us was moving a lot faster I think because people were getting off exits to avoid sitting in the traffic.. :) :)

Well it ended up taking us over 6 hours to get back (compared to our 4 hours there) with a stop for food at Chilliwack.. :) :) But one thing I do like about long road trips is it gives me and my honey a chance to really talk about everything. I think in our every day lives.. we don't have the time to just sit down and talk for hours. I remember we used to do that all the time in the beginning of our relationship.. when we were doing long distance. I could talk to my honey for hours and never get bored. We both never ran out of things to talk about. Sometimes I miss those days... :) :) A six hour car drives gives us that chance again and I was able to probe and get my honey talking... :) So I was thankful for the time we got to spend talking even if it was a long car ride home.. :)

Being an Aunt is great
Mood:  special
What a busy weekend with my family.. :) We spent the entire weekend almost in Coquitlam at my sister's. My older sister just had her third child - another little boy. So now she has a daughter and two sons... :) I went to pick up my mom the day my nephew was born and we went straight to the hospital. I can't believe my sister had all three children naturally. Every time she tells me about her labour story, it freaks me out. But I love holding new borns. It's one of the most peaceful things in the world. Than Friday, I went to my nieces' ballet recital. It was the cutest thing ever...! Seeing all these little girls in their cute little costumes (my niece was an organe blossom) and doing little dance routines watching their proud parents....was such an enjoyable experience. I think my brother-in law was bored though. My sister couldn't be there so I'm like a 2nd mommy to my niece and she came running to me after the show. I have to say being an aunt is great. I'm so close to my niece and nephew... I love them like they are my own children and the good thing about it is... I don't have to responsible for them and do any of the disciplining.. :)

Amazing Wedding
Mood:  happy
What a beautiful weekend we ended up having. Praise God for that. It was forecasting rain but we didn't get any rain and we had the most perfect weather.. :) :)

We spent the entire weekend in Seattle. I drove down first to help out with wedding plans and to attend my friends bridal shower. My honey came up Saturday morning by greyhound and had to endure a 5 hour bus ride because of traffic and someone being held up at the border. The poor guy.. :) :) But it was a nice little vacation for us too. We got to stay at the Sheraton for 2 nights (thanks to my husband's connection to the hotel industry). That's the only thing we miss having him work at the hotel is his perks we used to get.

Anyways... I truly felt God working in my life this weekend. I met a girl who we became instant friends. Its my first time meeting her this weekend but we just really opened up to each and bonded. She shared to me about her struggles she was going through and I was amazed because it was something I had struggled with years ago just before I found God in my life. I'm not sure if she knew I was a Christian but she asked me "if I was able to get passed everything because of God". And I said yes and starting pouring out my story and I just hope I made a difference in her life somehow! Its funny how God doesn't want us to forget our struggles. I used to want to just forget and move on. But God truly wants us to heal and use that struggle to help others. God definitely has put different friends and different people in my life to help them through theirs. And I would have never been able to do that or have as much compassion if I didn't experience it myself. It's through my struggles that I've learnt and changed the most and gained wisdom. I know that God (no matter what the struggle) will help you get through it and come out on top and he will only use the experience to glorify him and to reach out to others.

I also met this amazing couple who shared to us something and I found them so inspiring. We clicked with this couple because they had two dogs and the wife works for a doggy hotel. Of course that peaked my interest and soon we were showing off pictures of our dogs to each other. My friend got married on Father's Day so they had a cake to honor the Father's that day during their reception. I saw the husband of this couple get up and get a cake so I thought hmmm I didn't know he was a father. They shared to us about their dogs but not once did we see pictures or do they talk about their child. Than they went on to sharing that they have a baby in heaven and she miscarried recently (7 months into her pregnancy). They were so open and went on to tell me that most couples actually break up from something devastating like this. But they went to counselling and they worked on their relationship and are much stronger and closer because of it. They went on to tell me that what helped is to talk about it and acknowledge and even honor their baby in heaven and why they wanted to on Father's day! I think its so true.. when tragedy strikes or someone is suffering we all tend to keep it to our self or only share it with close friends. So we go on with our life, people not really knowing what we are going through. We've become so accustomed to putting on a mask and showing face... ! But I don't think that's what God wants from us. He'd want us to be transparent to show our imperfections, to show our suffering and tragedies and to be an example how God changed us from that experience. If we continue to hide it and act like everything is perfect in our life... how would we ever reach out to others or show God's love through us.

Women can drive too!
Mood:  lucky
Tomorrow I'm leaving to Seattle for the weekend for my friends wedding. I have to drive down by myself first because my honey is working Friday ( I took Thursday and Friday off) and I had to be there early to help out on wedding plans and attend her bridal shower.

The funny thing is, while I was walking my two dogs, I actually bumped into my co-worker's wife on the sea-wall so I went on to tell her I was driving down to Seattle tomorrow. And she was like "BY yourself" and she's like wow you're so brave. I was thinking yeah... what's the big deal? I used to do it all the time to visit my friend down there before I got married and met my husband. I've even driven from Vancouver to Calgary all by myself. Than my honey was talking to his friend and he mentioned to him that I'm driving down to Seattle by myself and he's going to take a one way bus down on Saturday. And he's like oh my wife would never do that "drive that far by herself". She'd be the one taking the bus and I'd have to drive down.

It just floored me that so many women just don't drive (especially long distance by them self). I've done this my whole life, even when I was 16, I drove from Calgary to Banff by myself (sometimes in blizzard conditions). I remember back than, my friends weren't allowed to but I did it all the time. I think its funny because my parents are just not the type to worry at all and maybe that's why I am the way I am. I've been grown up so independent and to do things for myself.. Even when I moved out to Vancouver on my own and I drove 10 hours by myself... my parents didn't except me to call to let them know I was OK. I remember my little sister went away for school and thought the same thing. The students were always calling home to let them know there were OK but for some reason, my parents knew we were OK. My dad always said to me " no news is good news"... so if we don't hear from you, it means we are doing fine. I think its funny how different we all are sometimes. Don't get me wrong because my family and I are super loving and close. We are not your typical Asian family... for sure! My mom is like my best friend I tell everything too and even my dad is affectionate to us. Not something that is a norm in our culture. But one thing my sisters and I all have in common is we left home at a young age and we are all very independent and self sufficient. My dad pushed us not to rely on anyone and to take care of ourself - AND it's definitely paid off. And something I'm so thankful for. If we were scared of anything - he'd make us go do it - like encouraging us to go down black diamond runs when I was still a kid ( I know I have crazy parents!!). I remember being on a plane to Japan all by myself with my little cabbage patch doll next to me and I was flying overseas from Calgary all by myself (with a connection in Vancouver) and I was only 10. Most of my friends who I grew up with had left home after school so I was amazed to meet so many people out here in Vancouver still in their late 20's and even 30's living with their parents. My dad pushed us to move away and go see the world where most Asian parents want to keep their kids so close to home. You change and appreciate life in a whole new way when you leave the comforts of your own home. Its scary but I think its something that is one of life's most valuable lessons. It's the time in my life where I grew, matured and changed the most. It was scary to be a young girl all by herself in a big city.. but you gain so much from it. My best friend and I still reminisce about our days when we were room mates and we couldn't afford much. But the was the best part! We were fine and we were doing it all alone and that is the greatest feeling.. :) It's definitely one of my most treasured moments of my life..!

I guess I got off on a tangent there ...... but I think its funny how we grow up and realize how lucky we were and how grateful we become of our parents. They've done so much for us and my best friend and I used to always say "Being raised in a good home, is like wining the lottery". Its so true... we don't get to choose our families but being raised in a good family does set your life in the right direction and determines where you go in life.. :) :) I definitely feel so lucky and feel like I've won the lottery because of my parents.. :) They've done so much for us and its funny how we don't see things clearly until we are older.. :) I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for them....:)