Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

I guess some things never change, like the unconditional love between a selfless father and his high maintenance daughter...

June 1986

(excuse the no make-up, au natural look...can't believe I'm posting this pic)

This one’s for you, Daddy.  Every day that I spend with you, is the best day.  I love you.

The Best Day

Taylor Swift

I'm five years old, it's getting cold, I've got my big coat on
I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you, I run and run
Past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides, look now, the sky is gold
I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home

I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
But I know you're not scared of anything at all
Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away

But I know I had the best day with you today

I'm thirteen now and don't know how my friends could be so mean
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys
And we drive and drive until we found a town far enough away
And we talk and window shop 'til I've forgotten all their names

I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school
But I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you
Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay

But I know I had the best day with you today

There is a video I found from back when I was three
You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me
It's the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs
And Daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world

And now I know why the all the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side even when I was wrong
And I love you for giving me your eyes
For staying back and watching me shine
And I didn't know if you knew, so I'm takin' this chance to say
That I had the best day with you today

I have an excellent father, his strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my little brother, inside and out, he's better than I am
I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run

And I had the best days with you

Bieber Fever

As you may or may not know, I am a Belieber with Bieber Fever.  Yes, I have his albums (My World, My World 2.0 and My World Acoustics).  Yes, I went to his concert (so good, right Hongie?).  Yes, I have a JB shirt (but only for sleepie time).  Yes, I HEART JB.  

I don't particularly care for Chris Brown, but I gotta give credit where credit is due, and the boy can sing and dance...and I love this song they did together.  The video is eh, but my love for the song and for JB was enough to make it to the post.  Happy Father's Day weekend all!!

Nuptial Notes #2

Maid of Honor – Wendy J

I was curious about the origin of the term, “Maid of Honor,” so like everything else for the wedding, I googled.  This is one of the better explanations I found:

“Back in Roman times, the bride traditionally traveled to the groom's home village for the wedding ceremony. The original purpose of the maid of honor and her fellow bridesmaids was to dress exactly like the bride in order to protect her. Any men jealous of the bride and groom would be confused as to which was the real bride. The matching bridesmaids and maid of honor were also there to confuse any malevolent spirits. The groomsmen and ushers in turn dressed like the groom for the same purpose.

The maid of honor was also supposed to help the bride dress and prepare for the wedding (as she does now), as well as aiding her to make the bridal wreath. This wreath of aromatic herbs and flowers was another protection designed to keep away evil spirits.

The title, "maid of honor," may have come from the United Kingdom. It used to be the term for a female attendant of the queen. And perhaps now we know where the bridezilla complex may have come from! I suppose the bride is more or less the queen for a day.”

"The History of Maids of Honor." A Site for Maids and Matrons of Honor! http://www.maid-of-honor.net/index.php?url=history-maid-honor&category=MaidAdvice

Wendy is my Maid of Honor.  She is like family to me, to us.  We have lived life together – loved, laughed, cried, celebrated, and have shared everything in between.  She is smart, witty, funny, driven, gorgeous, caring, loving, and more…she’s my bestie.   I’ll save my speeches about her and the BM’s for the engagement party or rehearsal dinner, but had to share an amazing experience we had the other night.  The dress.  No, not mine, hers.

In the beginning, I was adamant about Wendy having a different dress from the BMs.  As I started to look for dresses, I realized that it’s hard to find a MOH dress that matches the BM dresses, but different at the same time.  I wanted to find a MOH dress that was the same (or pretty close) in material, same color (preferably from the same dye lot), with a similar cut and neckline.  I then found a few dresses at Nordstrom that I liked.  Sizing was limited, so that narrowed down my choices.  I came to the realization that maybe, everyone would just wear the same dress.  Monday night – ordered the dresses (see Nuptial Notes #1).

Tuesday morning – I’m at work and my BBM starts blowing up!  I read messages from Wendy, then I receive an email with a link.  I click on it.  One of the dresses I LOVED, but had only larger sizes, is now showing other sizes available!  Wendy and I scurry to order the dress.  She tries and is having some technical difficulties so I scramble to order it in the size we need.  My order goes thru and thank goodness because about 10 minutes later, the size we need is no longer available.  Praise the Lord! 

I’m not sure that words do it justice from this point, so I’ll just share the pictures. 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!  Love the fact that it’s made by the same designer as the other dresses, love that it’s also black, long and formal, love the bow in the back and love the train.  Most of all, I LOVE the beautiful woman wearing the dress, who no matter how amazing she looks on the outside, pales in comparison to the beauty on the inside.

Rhythm of Love...

I heart music.  I have a strong appreciation for lyrics and although I'm not a TV fan, I could watch music videos all day long.  I'm sad that Soul Train has ended and MTV doesn't really just play music videos anymore.  In reality, who needs those shows anyways...thank God for YouTube!

As a nod to my love for music and music videos, instead of just sharing my favorite playlists, I'd like to share my fave songs/videos.  Wendy introduced me to JV and I've been hooked since.  I then introduced JV to Daddy and now he's hooked too.  Enjoy! 

Ni Hao!

I think I should have been born Chinese.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not having an identity crisis.  I’m happy and proud to be Japanese, but in a parallel universe, I’m 95% certain that I am Chinese.

Evidence that supports my alter ethnicity theory:

•   I LOVE Chinese drinks (Half and Half House, baby!)
•   I LOVE Chinese New Year Cake (is it CNY yet, Wendy?)
•   I LOVE Chinese Chicken Salad (mommy’s recipe is the best!)
•   I LOVE Chinese…FOOD.

All the above, really just translates to…I LOVE GARDEN CAFÉ.

I won’t make a list of why I love Garden Café because words cannot describe my affection.  However, I do have to share my most recent experience at Garden Café.  They definitely didn’t disappoint.

My friend Brandon and I share a love for Garden Café (well, maybe I love GC a bit more), so we decided to have din din there last night (after I bought running shoes, which I definitely need after our feast).  As usual, the food was phenomenal, but this post isn’t about the yummie yang chow fried rice.  It’s about dessert.  That’s right, dessert, at GC.   

As we were finishing our feast (without saying anything aloud, I know Brandon and I chose to sit at the table for 4 instead of the table for 2 because we knew the table for 2 couldn’t accommodate all the dishes we were about to order), I kept seeing the server carry around these small dishes of crème brulee.  He seemed to be wandering aimlessly, so I decided that he must be searching for patrons to sample these delectable treats!  I flag down the server and inquire about the crème brulee.  Next thing I know, BG and I are enjoying our crème brulee dessert!  As we were leaving, I thanked him and told him that next time, we’ll order the dessert.  He responded saying that he’d just like us to return (little does he know we have a reserved parking spot…JK :)) and that he’ll give us the crème brulee again.  I LOVE GARDEN CAFÉ.

Nuptial Notes (column coined by Daddy :))

Since part of the reason I decided to start my blog now is due to my upcoming nuptials, I’m hoping to document some of the journey.  That being said, welcome to my Nuptial Notes column!  I have to thank Daddy for the creative column title and thank God for a creative Daddy (with wonderful handwriting for all the calligraphy he will be doing for the invitations :))!

I always thought Nordstrom was synonymous with great customer service, client appreciation and quality clothing.  The cherry on top is their awesome return policy, so naturally, as I began to search for bridesmaid (BM) dresses, nordstrom.com was at the top of my list. 

Without fail, I found a few dresses that I loved.  I narrowed it down to just one dress in particular and emailed the BM’s for their feedback.  After looking at the dress multiple times and receiving approval from the BM’s, I realized how much I liked the dress!   It met most of my criteria (long, black and formal), so I called Nordstrom first thing this morning.  As expected, a friendly voice answers the phone.  I get transferred to the dress department and speak to Jennifer (I think that was her name J) who looks the dress up in their system and informs me that they have a limited number of dresses and sizes company wide.  She suggests that I come into the store and order the dresses as soon as possible.  She explains that she leaves at 5PM, but will leave a note at the register.  So excited!!  I double check with Wendy, my MOH, and we plan to go to Nordie’s tonight.

We arrive at Nordstrom and get distracted in the lingerie department.  YAYAYAY for Vanessa!  She measures Wendy and me, and proceeds to bring us a parade of undergarments.  Vanessa is exactly what you expect to find at Nordstrom.  She is knowledgeable, friendly, helpful and patient.  We hear the announcement of the store closing in 30 minutes, so we take our items (yay for the half-yearly sale for women and kids!) to the register and check out.  Thank you, Vanessa! 

We finally make our way to the dress department.  I explain that I called earlier about ordering dresses, gave her my name, and just as Jennifer said, a note was there with all the details!  Easy, right?  Wrong.  The salesperson, who shall remain nameless, was the opposite of Vanessa and Jennifer.  She was impatient, seemed annoyed, dry and asked me why I hadn’t just ordered the dresses online if I knew they weren’t in the store.  WOW, not what I expect from Nordstrom.  In her defense, it was late and everyone was trying to close the store and maybe she had a long day.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for her. :)

All this to say that we have now officially ordered the BM dresses!  They should arrive in about 5 business days and we’ll go try them on to see if they make the cut.  If not, we’ll continue the hunt.  Thanks Wendy, for going with me tonight and for being the best MOH a girl could ever dream of…and to the five most beautiful BMs-Hongie, JJ, Sharlene, Stacy, and Sonia-thank you for being the best BMs a girl could have.  You all are stunning, no matter what dress you’re wearing.  XOXO

Formatting!

Day 2 (well really still 1 since post #1 was at 2 something this morning) and I already realized that I need to figure out how to format my text.  I hate the spacing in post #1.  Time to educate myself.  Hopefully my next post will look the way that I want it to. :)  I also need to figure out how to make the title of my posts smaller font.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Post #1

Hiyee and welcome!!

I don't even know where to start, and I'm a bullet list kind-of-girl, so I think I'll start with some lists...here we go!

Why I've started blogging:

• I've been thinking about starting for a looooong time! :)
• I enjoy writing and sharing, but don't like the fancy hoopla (pictures, wall comments, etc.) that goes into social networking sites (other than Twitter-140 characters of text...fast, easy, low maintenance, gotta love it!)
• I've been following J's blog (jmiyabe.blogspot.com) and it's inspired me to just bite the bullet and start blogging (thanks J!) 
• Some big events are coming up (the big 3-0 and getting married), so I thought it'd be kinda cool to document the journey  

Why I'm nervous about blogging:

• What if I'm a horrible blogger!?
• I have no idea how to do all this website/html coding stuff
• My thoughts and feelings are public...I mean I know I decide what to write/share, but there's just something about it being on the internet that makes me nervous.  I know, I'm crazy...I control what gets posted, so what am I all stressed out about?  I don't even know that anyone will ever read my blog!  Crazy I tell you... :P
• I don't know the rules about blogging, or how to blog correctly.  In preparation (over the past year or so), I've read various articles/posts about what make a good blog...write often, be light, be heavy, the list goes on and on.  I have decided that I think I'll just write as if its my journal - simple and casual, reflecting whatever mood I'm in and posting as often as I have time for. 

My first steps in blogging:

• Incorporate some of the things I LOVE - pink, Hello Kitty, and verdana font
• Write my first post :)

We'll see how this blogging thing goes.  Welcome to my life! :)