Friday Funnies

This weekend we are heading up to Sacramento for Sharlene’s (my sister-in-law) baby shower.  I am excited to see Mom and Dad Serrano, as well as all the extended family as we haven’t seen them in quite a while.  Sherwin’s cousin gave birth 2 months ago too, so we get to meet baby Jayneli!  I’ll have to share pics on the flipside, but I had two quick funny stories to leave you with as we head into the weekend…

My niece Olivia started Kindergarten this year and was asked to draw a picture of herself, then write her name below.  The teachers collected the student’s drawings, and designed a shirt for them to wear on their field trips.  Olivia shows my Mom her shirt the other day and it was laughs all around…see below.  HILARIOUS, right!?!?!??!  I have a few faves, but since it’s not nice to put anyone on blast, I’ll keep my giggles to myself…hehehehehe :D  How ironic is it that Olivia is also next to a girl named Leah?  J
 

My second giggle is about my nephew Bubbas, Olivia’s brother.  He goes to My Gym on Fridays with my Mom and apparently they have this organized play time called Circle Time.  Bubbas is 2 years old, and definitely doesn’t want to do anything that is described as “organized” so every week it’s a struggle.  Recently Mommy’s been taking him to get french fries (his love) after My Gym, if he does well in Circle Time.  I guess somewhere along the way, Mommy thought it would be good to reinforce with something other than food/french fries, so she told Eli, “if you don’t do good in Circle Time, no swing (second love). “ Bubbas then looks up at my Mommy and says, “but Grandma, how about French Fries?”  AHAHAHAHAHAHA  no wonder we call him, Bubbas and no wonder he’s my nephew.   
 

Bubbas at My Gym today

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being an Auntie, to both Bubbas and Lolli Oli and also to the two I’ll be seeing this weekend, Javen and Ava…oh and the one that is on the way too! J

Hope your weekend is filled with love and LOTS of giggles!

Spend my life with you...

As tired as I am, I promised J a post this weekend so here’s to keeping my word to one of my nearest and dearest.  ;)

This weekend, heck this summer, has gone by in flash.  I can’t believe that in a few weeks, we will be entering into the fall season.  I can’t complain though as this season has been wonderful.  We have traveled, friends and family have delivered little miracles (and/or announced their upcoming deliveries!), birthdays have been celebrated, and a new job has begun for my Mister – hooray! 

And through it all, I have enjoyed sharing every moment of this busy life with my hubby.  In my opinion, a song can say so much, so I want to share a song with you that gives you a glimpse of where my heart is.  The Mister and I heard it the other day and we talked about how we forgot all about this song, but loved it.  Hope it’s not too sappy, but truth be told…no matter how fast and full life gets, I am truly, deeply, utterly thankful for the one man that I get to spend my life with.  Praise God for Sherwin!
 

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead! XO

 

 

Sorry for the poor video quality…it’s the best one I found…don’t you hate it when there is no official music video for a song you love?!?! UGH! :P

Back!

I’m baaack!!!  Well at least for a few days before we depart for a mini vaca to Cabo!

So life has been crazy.  I’m sure it’s been crazy for y’all as well since we each have our own chaos, but the days have just flown by.  I find myself barely getting home in time to shower, do some house chores or maybe read a bit, get to bed past midnight, only to wake up the next day and do it all over again…BUT, as always, God is faithful and has been taking good care of us.

There is one thing, other than time, that has truly put a damper on my blogging.  About 7 weeks ago, my camera broke (I won’t go into details, but for once, it isn’t my fault :P).  Since I don’t have my camera, it’s been hard to capture moments to share on the blog, and let’s be real…no one just wants to read text…booooring, right?!!?  Anyhow, we are on the hunt for a new camera, or we may just get ours fixed, but until then, I’m cameraless and have been totally bummed and unmotivated to blog.  OK – enough with the excuses, camera or not, I gotta get caught up.  I’ve missed you!

So much to tell, so little time, and again, all with no camera.  I’m going to do my best to recap the past couple weeks with “borrowed” pictures, so just bear with me in case the photo doesn’t exactly match the event.  Here we go!

Day trip to Laguna Beach – attended Saddleback church in the morning, then headed down to the beachside for brunch.  Went to Art-a-Fair, Sawdust Festival, Festival of the Arts, and finished the day with Pageant of the Masters!

 

  

 

Celebrated three special birthdays (more to come…)!! 

 

Our wedding DVD – HOORAY for Addy and Julian at 10^th Letter!!!

 

 Had a special visit from Rocky!

  

Much needed QT with Wendy <3 

Celebrating God’s new gift to my Cousin Stacy!

 

“…because that’s what you do with gifts…you give them away.”

 

Sleepover in the OC, early entry to DCA (Cars Land is AWESOME!), then Disneyland. 

After 10 hours of Disney fun, enjoyed a yummie Tonkatsu dinner

and tasty shaved ice with the fam and Ethan.

 

  

And on Friday, headed to Cabo for some much needed R&R…

Have a blessed Tuesday…I know I will as J is visiting!! 

Happy Birthday, Hubby! (Part III - Big Bear)

And the finale to my Mister’s birthday celebrations was the weekend in Big Bear, granting his request to go fishing.  Mommy, Daddy, Sherwin and I headed up the mountain and spent the weekend eating, laughing, resting, and fishing.  It’s awesome when family is some of your best friends. 

Happy birthday, love!  I hope you know just how much you mean to me.  To celebrating our 10^th birthday together, and many more to come…I love you.  Cheers!

Happy Birthday, Hubby! (Part II - Mastro's)

I HEART MASTRO’S…and as they say, it was definitely an unparalleled dining experience.

Thursday night I made dinner reservations at Mastro’s.  My Mister has been wanting to go and since we were leaving Friday night, Thursday night it was.  Little did we know, Thursday nights are one of their busiest nights. :/

Our reservation was for 9:15pm.  We checked in at about 8:50pm, hung out at the bar and watched the Olympics as we waited for our name to be called.  9:15 came and went…then so did 9:20, 9:25, 9:30.  I checked in with the hostess and inquired about how much longer our wait was going to be.  He explained that tables would be leaving soon and that we would be seated as soon as possible.  Long story short, turns out that “as soon as possible” meant 9:45pm, which was 30 minutes past our reservation.  I have to admit, I did tell the hostess that I was disappointed in the long wait, but because the birthday boy was calm and composed as usual, I didn’t make a big deal of it.  As we were being seated, the hostess said that they would comp our dessert due to the wait.  I politely said thank you but knew that when I called to make our reservation, I explained we were celebrating a birthday and they had already committed to a birthday treat on the house…

Our server Debbie apologized for the wait, chatted with us for a bit about the menu, then took our appetizer order.  Shortly before our appetizers came out, she informed us that they would be giving us a shrimp cocktail appetizer to compensate for the wait earlier, along with giving us our mushroom appetizer for free!  OK, so now the night is starting to turn around folks!  The appetizers were SUPER yummie and somewhere between the appetizers and main course, the general manager, Franco Checchini, introduced himself and also apologized for our extensive wait. 

Dinner was superb but we were so full from the bread and appetizers, that we didn’t even finish half of our meal!  Debbie then came to prepare us for dessert and kindly substituted the birthday chocolate cake for their infamous buttercake (thanks for the tip, Wendy!).  It was DEEEELISH, however, we only finished a third of our third course. :P

Brace yourselves friends because then the unimaginable happened.  We were getting all our tasty goodness boxed to go and Debbie tells us that Franco has picked up our tab.  WHAT?!?!?! Yup, you heard right…our.entire.tab.  Crazy, right?!?!?  To put some perspective on it, our bill would have been upwards of $200+. 

Hooray for Franco and Mastro’s!!  You don’t often find service like that anymore.  Proves that God is FOR SURE omnipresent and delivers his blessings in all shapes and sizes!  

Mastro’s anyone?  Definitely a steakhouse worth supporting. 

Wishing you all a great start to the week!



Shrimp cocktail over dry ice…fancy!

Crab stuffed mushrooms

 

Lobster Mashed Potatoes, recommended by Wendy...YUM!

Buttercake!

Happy Birthday, Hubby (Part I)!!!!

Happy birthday, hubby!!!

Today is Sherwin’s birthday (yipeeee!!) and as you know, we celebrate week long around here!  We actually started celebrating on Tuesday with Mommy and Daddy (pics below).  We went there before his basketball game and they bought him a cake and one of his fave treats…donuts!  They also gave him a heartwarming card (complete with a cute drawing, compliments of Picasso a la Daddy) and a generous gift (that we might be using towards a new toy! *ahem* ipad *ahem* maybe?….)! :P

In a few hours we will be packing our bags and heading to Big Bear for the weekend as the  Mister wanted to go fishing for his birthday!  There will be more birthday posts to come, but couldn’t leave without wishing my “life partner, my one coquette, the answer to my love’s duet” (oh boy…watching too much Enchanted :P), a happy, happy birthday.

To my itchy bun, I mean ichiban…hee hee…

I love you with all my heart.  You truly are the answer to my love’s duet and

I praise God for you!!  Thank you for being my everything!!  I am excited about what

 the Lord has in store for you, and for us, this next year.  I am so grateful that

you are the one I get to spend the rest of my life with. 

With all my love and affection,

your wifey XOXO

Enchanted!

While I’ve been dukin’ it out with this cold of mine, my hubby, as always, has been taking exceptional care of me.  Tonight, he made sinigang (Filipino soup with veggies and meat, yummie!), then propped me up in bed and turned on one of my fave movies…Enchanted (what's not to love about a modern-day fairytale in New York?!?!?!)!

I love most things Disney – Disney radio, Disney Channel (even though I have no time to watch it L), and of course, Disneyland!  I’m not one of those crazed Disney fanatics, but I do enjoy the wonderment of the Disney world.  I’m not sure how accurate of a statement it is, but some people have even described me as whimsical.  I guess the fact that I wore a Disney princess ballroom wedding gown, with a glitter tulle skirt, lends to the whole whimsical label.

My Cinderella dress and my dapper prince!

I haven’t watched Enchanted in forever, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!  If you haven’t seen it, you are truly missing out.  I have always believed in (and practiced) the importance of childlike “sillies”…to dance crazy, sing out loud, love wholeheartedly, and of course…share in true love’s kiss. 

Wishing you a magical weekend! XOXO!

And we’re back – Weekend recap!

We are home from sunny Sacramento!  We flew up on Friday morning and spent the day with Jr. – watched Spiderman, went shopping, then headed home to hang out with the fam bam.  In other words, we made sure to engage in activities that provided shelter from the heat.  :D 

Thoroughly enjoyed Spidey!

Saturday was filled with party preparation, and of course the party itself.  We celebrated two birthdays – Jr. (10) and Nana (90), and it was precious time spent with family.  We shared our wedding photos and answered the baby question about 20 times - no, we are not pregnant yet and no, we won’t be anytime soon.  The girl cousins and I hung out (Sharlene did make-up while I did hair), the aunties, Mom and I played cards, we ate loads of food and yummy cake and just enjoyed one another’s company. 

Then came Sunday morning…and after 2 hours of sleep, we headed to the airport.  Jr.’s flight back to Hawaii departed 9:15am and ours at 8:55am.  It was an emotional morning as Jr. said bye to his Mom, Step-dad, siblings, Mama and Papa (my MIL and FIL).  After lots of hugs, kisses and teary goodbyes, we decided to grab a quick breakfast with Jr. before we had to board.   Then it was our turn to say good bye, and as we walked Jr. to his gate to meet his uncle (who is flying back with him), his tears started to fall.    For those of you that know me, the whole situation is a little complicated and too much to write in this post, but as I turned around one last time to tell Jr. I loved him, his “I love you, too” response made my heart ache.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and praying for a blessed week ahead!

Home again!

We are home - bags are unpacked, dinner eaten and we even had time to see the worst movie ever.  I should've known better, but oh well...*sigh*

Highlight of the weekend – Sherwin’s catch!  Hooray for my Mister!!!  His fishy has been 5 years in the making.

More pics to come later, but wanted to wish y’all a happy week ahead!

Mammoth Lakes

This weekend we are going to Mammoth Lakes.  Totally looking forward to the beautiful scenery and oddly enough, being in the car with my Mister for the 6 hour drive. 

If you’ve talked to me recently, you’ve heard my growing aversion for long car rides, but for some reason, this drive is different.  It’s different because it’s a new drive for us.  We’ve never been to Mammoth together and we get to take a completely different route.  It’s not our 6+ hour drive up the 99 to Sacramento (woo hoo, we are flying up next weekend, NOT driving!) and I’m praying it won’t be like our recent 8 hour drive to Las Vegas (oil spill on the 15 – BOOOO).  Just as the pro’s (J+Josh)  told me earlier this week, we will be heading up the 395 and that, for us, is new.  It will also be just my Mister and I, and as much as I am “the more the merrier” type, I do LOVE being with just him.

I’m sure there will be a post and pics to follow, but until then, thank goodness for Daddy!  He gave us this trusty handbook and as long as nothing’s changed since 1976, we’re all set (hee hee…do love you, Daddy)!

Happy weekend, friends!       

Miss now Mrs. :)

The truth is that it’s been official since 1.21.2012, but seeing my new married name in print, on legal documents, is something completely separate.

The only thing left is my passport, and since we are traveling out of the country soon, I thought it would be best to leave it as is for now so I’m not in a panic if it takes longer than expected.

It’s going to take some getting used to...

§  a new signature...I’m often clearing the signature pad because I signed incorrectly.

§  hearing people I don’t know (and do know, I suppose), call me Mrs. S. 

§  no one talking to me about last name (before, 75% of the time, the clerk would ask me or talk to me about my Japanese last name).

§  clerks at the Japanese store not giving me the “special bond” treatment when I’m checking out because my name doesn’t indicate our shared heritage. 

§  saying my married last name when asked what my name is.

Loving my new last name because…

§  it signifies the bond between my Mister and I.

§  it honors Genesis 2:24.

§  I love being his wife.

§  in my head, it makes everything that much more official.

§  the other night, my Mister told me that my new name, is beautiful.

For those of you that know me, the name change was what I was dreading the most.  Now that most things are changed, I’ve found that the process wasn’t as nearly as painful as I thought it would be (literally and emotionally).  As much as I loved my maiden name…what it stood for, where I came from, who I was…my past; my married name has birthed the significance of a new covenant, stemmed from love and devotion…my future.

With love...

Hubby is home!

I’ve been in agony the past 5 days as Sherwin was in Sacramento, but he has returned and I couldn’t be a happier wife.  LOVE this man and found I couldn’t function normally without him.  

Welcome home, love!!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

I always thought my wedding day would be bittersweet because although I’d be overflowing with joy to  marry the love of my life, it would also symbolize the separation from my parents…specifically my Daddy.  Much to my surprise, as Daddy walked me down the aisle and gave me away to my Mister, it was all sweet and no bitter.  Looking back on my 30 years of life thus far, I realize that Daddy has made my life always sweet and never bitter.  That’s not to say he is perfect, but it is to say that he has been and will always be my hero, my best friend, my Daddy and nothing, not even changing my last name, could ever change any of that.

The video below, put together by my hubby, was played at our wedding.  The video footage began and then transitioned into the song my Daddy and I danced to.

Daddy – on this Father’s Day, I hope you know how much I love you…how much I treasure the moments spent together, and how much you mean to me.  It’s no wonder why I married such a great man, because much of what I love about Sherwin, I learned from you.  God could not have blessed me with a better Daddy.  With all my love, Happy Father’s Day, Daddy!

I Loved Her First

Heartland

Look at the two of you dancing that way

Lost in the moment and each others face

So much in love your alone in this place

Like there's nobody else in the world

I was enough for her not long ago

I was her number one

She told me so

And she still means the world to me

Just so you know

So be careful when you hold my girl

Time changes everything

Life must go on

And I'm not gonna stand in your way

  
But I loved her first and I held her first

And a place in my heart will always be hers

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me

I knew the love of a father runs deep

And I prayed that she'd find you someday

But it still hard to give her away

I loved her first

How could that beautiful woman with you

Be the same freckle face kid that I knew

The one that I read all those fairy tales to

And tucked into bed all those nights

And I knew the first time I saw you with her

It was only a matter of time

But I loved her first and I held her first

And a place in my heart will always be hers

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me

I knew the love of a father runs deep

And I prayed that she'd find you someday

But its still hard to give her away

I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me

I knew the love of a father runs deep

Someday you might know what I'm going through

When a miracle smiles up at you

I loved her first

A special gift

I am so sorry for the sporadic posts – life has been nuts!  I know I say that all the time, but really, it’s been a whirlwind of craziness.  My Mister and I have both been running around like chickens with our heads cut off (he’s been hired by my parents to assist with their home upgrades and has been graciously helping me with my name change stuff...I’ve been swamped at work all while trying to fight a $3K fraud claim with Paypal and my bank – SO frustrating!), but somewhere in between the chaos, he found time to do something super sweet.

So we got home on Monday night after being in the car for 10 hours (well, it’s really an 8 hour trip but we made some stops), and I probably shouldn’t be complaining because he drove 8 hours and Daddy drove 2, which made me just a passenger, but something about being on the road for that long was just exhausting.  I had work to do so I jumped online to knock some out before unpacking, showering, etc.  As usual, a few hours pass and I finally peeled myself off the computer, joined my love on the couch, and slouched next to him just feeling totally beat.  As we sat together, we opened our mail and then he handed me a small UPS package.  I saw the package on the table when we first walked in, but figured he had just ordered something online, as I made a beeline to my office. 

I opened the package and this was inside…

His note melted my heart and made my day, my week…AND the HP HK gift was the cherry on top.  With everything that has been going on, his thoughtful package meant even more. 

To my love – thank you for being the greatest hubby ever and for always taking care of me, emotionally, physically and spiritually.  I love you with all my heart and praise God for you!!  You are an amazing man and I am privileged to be your wifey.  With a grateful heart filled with love…Your Mrs. S

The Katinas

A few weeks ago while I was working and listening to Pandora, a song caught my ear.  I quickly toggled windows to see who was singing and wondered why they were playing r&b music on my worship station.  That was the day I was introduced to The Katinas.  I texted BG earlier this week to tell him about them cause I thought he’d like them too, but apparently, I’m last to the party because he told me they are like way old.

Anyways, after a super long day and hours spent at urgent care for my ongoing toe issue (thank you to my Mister for being the best hubby ever…driving me, waiting, getting my prescriptions, and more…I love you), I am finally unwinding listening to these guys.  What peace they bring to my heart…they are like a gospel Boyz II Men, Samoan style – awesome, right?!?  The video below is actually my 2 fave songs from them.  Enjoy!

Oh and BTW – JB tickets drop tomorrow at noon…hmmmm…..:P

Oh and BTW II – Happy 1^st Anniversary to J+J!!!!  Love you both!  An anniversary post coming soon as J and Sonia both celebrated anniversaries this month.  <3 <3 <3

Happy week, y’all!!

A Thankful Thursday...

For some odd reason, as I was showering tonight, I was so overcome with gratitude that I thought I might cry.  I’m actually not much of a crier, so no tears were shed, but my heart was definitely overflowing.  It has inspired my thankful Thursday post.

I’m not quite sure if this will become a regular series on the blog, although having an attitude of gratitude is healthy, but we’re going to give this a go today.

This Thursday, I am thankful for (in no particular order)…

§  God.  Thanking the Lord for all the blessings and provisions that He provides in my life…minute by minute, day by day, 24/7. 

§  The most amazing husband I could ever have prayed for.  I don’t blog much about him specifically, mostly because I don’t want to bore anyone else with the mushy stuff, but he is the greatest mate that God could have provided.  He is selfless, giving, generous, loving, caring, attentive, patient, and a man of God.  He warms my heart every day and I praise God for giving him to me.

§  The best parents in the world.  Thank you for going to the Fantasmic event until 2am with us, for welcoming me home when the internet at my place is out and for SO much more. 

§  Awesome girlfriends.  Being with J until 2am, chatting the night away – time with her is a gift to my soul.  Wendy, whether it’s hanging out on a holiday, or talking on the phone on the way home after her date(s), she makes my heart happy and my life full.  Dinner with Hongie last night – that girl brings me unspeakable joy.  Sonia – the one who brings me peace, encouragement and love on a daily basis.  For all my other girlfriends that I didn’t see this week, I’m grateful for you too!

§  My job.  I know it seems crazy, but I thank God for the opportunity to do what I do, with people that I love, all while in the most comfortable office ever.  Couldn’t ask for anything more.

§  Eden in Love winning first place!  WOO HOO!!!

§  Fun Snail Mail from Addy!  I love snail mail and I received the cutest notecard and letter from Addy this week!  The most wonderful friendship that blossomed from our wedding, no doubt. 

§  My toe getting better..slowly, but it’s on the mend!

§  Those of you that read this blog!  Thank you for joining me in the chaos called life.

§  And last but not least…fabulous family.  I have no words to articulate the deep love and appreciation I have for them all.  I am humbled by their constant support and so grateful for their presence in my life.

Who are you thankful for?  Thank someone today, for being who they are to you!