Rayli sends this out to Aunty Jamie!

Rayli knows Aunty Jamie loves Black Eyed Peas!
Skip to around 2:13 and see Aiyanna showing her support in the background lol!

been a long time coming ...

life has been crazy.
crazy in all aspects.

new house. new internship.
new exciting chapters.
new perspectives on life and love.

crazy can be CRAZY
but it can also be an insanely great thing.

if life were mundane, would we grow as individuals?
would we appreciate love and kindness if we never experienced heartache and pain first?

so I am learning to embrace my trials and tribulations.
i will stop calling them obstacles but rather opportunities to learn something about myself.
although it is unreasonable to believe i will always be able to smile when the goings get tough ...
i will no longer wallow in a pity pool and allow grief to sway or consume me.

i won't allow myself to believe the hype.
i will just allow myself to love and accept me.

i've made mistakes.
i haven't lived up everyone's expectations or standards.
yes, i have room to grow.
but i refuse to punish myself for not growing fast enough.
i am who i am.
i am learning to love me for me.

i truly believe that once i love myself,
trust my heart,
speak my truths ...
everything else will fall into place.
just like it was meant to be.

my mindset is changing.
i used to think, "hey, if i only did this, this, and that ... things would have been better."
"if only i were skinnier, prettier, smarter ... they would be happy."
but no, i don't have the power to control someone's happiness.
that is their journey
and i am only in control of mine.




sending out much love ...
everyone in the world deserves to know that they are loved, appreciated, and supported!

Boo Mr. Plaque!

Once upon a time, there was a Mommy who thought it would be a great idea to schedule everyone's annual dental cleaning appointments on the same day.

"Yay, only one trip to town and we can knock these appointments outta here!"
(how would I ever survive living anywhere else ... "to town" is only a 15 minute - 1 hour drive here, totally dependent on traffic ... *ah, stuck in my Salt Lake to Pearl City bubble*)

Nice day ... smooth traffic ... open parking stall ...
"I'm such an awesome planner," says the Mommy.

Daddy's presence was of course requested.
What a smart Mommy ... she knew she may need some backup and someone to read books/entertain between her snapping pictures and getting her teeth cleaned.


But of course, Daddy doesn't read books as great as Mommy ...
and although Jydon was thoroughly pleased, Rayli was less than impressed.

So Daddy put the book down ...
the tween pulled out her ipod ...

Jazzy built a lego Mommy ...
and hungry Rayli decided to munch on plastic ...

Continuing with tradition,
Jazzy drew Miss Ellen, the sweetest dental hygienist, a picture for her wall ...

and hung it up to her picture from last year's annual visit.

Rayli pretended she was a scared princess ...

but we all know she loves the dentist ...

and those cool shades she gets to wear :)

not to mention the wicked cool glove balloon she gets to make!

Three hours at the dentist office, four hungry kiddos, two pooped parents ...
and three return visits scheduled. Jydon and Mommy have cavities :(
Eek!

Rawr ... I Need a Pedi!

About a year ago, I gave up going to the nail salon.
Why?
Lack of time.
Saving money.
Working on growing my natural nails.

But I really miss getting pedicures and I KNOW I will be making a pedi-trip very soon! The nice thing is that the hubs enjoys going with me ... he says it's the only time he can get away with another woman rubbing his feet and hands and not get in trouble ;)

So we will probably be spending some QT at a nail salon in the near future. Woop woop, can't wait!

In the mean time, I picked up some new polishes at Sephora on Saturday. The pink shade is "Arm Candy" and the brown shade is "Rumba Romance"
both by Sephora by OPI.

And although I didn't follow a specific tutorial, I was inspired by youtube as always!
Once my facebook status said something like, "went on youtube to listen to some old school R&B songs and four hours later, here I am watching tutorials on how to do nails."
I got a lot of LOLs but if they only knew ... dead serious!

There are many tremendously talented people out there, all willing to share their knowledge.
check them out! I swear I could watch youtube for days.

Eek, so here goes my un-pedicured feet.
Took about 10 minutes. I love fun & fast things.
Maybe my Jordans will get some shoe closet time this week ...
feeling like rockin' some open-toed shoes now :)

The Sally Hansen nail art pen (in black) made drawing the squiggle outlines easy peasy. It is also good for making dots; however, the dotting tool is my favorite tool for this purpose.
I got the SH products at a local Target and a set of dotting tools off eBay. All pretty inexpensive, useful, and fun!

Oishii!

Oishii = Yummy in Japanese
Kanpai's Sports Bar is the home of deliciousness!
I swear we will find every reason to celebrate and eat at Kanpai's ...
this time we were celebrating Anna's birthday :)

I would have gotten pictures of her awesome Red Velvet white chocolate cake, the lychee alcoholic beverages, the extra crispy fried gizzards, and the ono ahi belly BUT I was too busy eating lol! Oops!

How dare I disregard the golden "picture first, eat after" rule of dining out in the facebook/blog era!

*wafu steak*

*garlic fries*

*spicy garlic chicken & fried rice*

*fried rice with scrambled eggs*

*kim chee edamame*

Now if I could only enjoy walking on the treadmill as much as Rayli does ...

Story behind this picture:
I got tired of the kids goofing off on the treadmill so I said, "If you get on the treadmill, you must have on sneakers, you may not play around with the speed control, and you must walk for at least 15 minutes without getting off."
When I came back, Rayli was walking the treadmill and reading her animal book. Guess she shut me up huh?!

Should Have Been Studying ...

but spent Mothers' Day lounging at Scott's Pool on Pearl Harbor instead :)

(you know you're at a military pool when there's a big carrier in the every picture)

The last two months have been tough ones ...
and therefore, lack of blog posts.
It is crazy to think how much your life can change overnight (for better or worse)
but I think that is what makes us such resilient beings!
It's our ability to bounce back, triumph over adversity, and move forward.

With finals week almost in the bag ...
it is time to celebrate and
I am sooooooooo ready for that!

The Joy of Food

Okay, yeah so I'm suppose to be on a diet.

And yeah, it is true...
the only thing I can control is the distance between by hand and my mouth. (gee thanks Doc)

But oh phooey, I am a sucker for a good meal.
What is even better? A good meal with great company!

Mom brought home Vietnamese food from BaLe. Yum!


Mmmmm Summer Rolls [shrimp & tofu]
I love the peanut sauce it comes with but it was also another perfect occasion to bust out my Pietro's dressing too!



The sandwiches were the bomb!
I love the crunchy freshness of the carrots, cucumbers, & daikon.
Vegetables never looked or tasted so good. Delish!


My lunch dates, Mom & Grandpa K.
See his tray? He likes his meals a certain way and it usually involves about five bowls, Ensure, and a cup of coffee. After almost 95 years, I guess you know what you like and stick with it.
I don't blame him, its always interesting to see what he's eating and if you are Rayli (his 4-yo buddy) ... sit next to him and pick out of all his bowls.

and later that night ...

Did I ever mention my "tween" wanting to be a pastry chef?
The upside: She likes to try new recipes.
The downside: The aren't usually good for my diet or my cholesterol
but they do make me happy ... verrrrrry happy :)


Aiyanna's cinnamon rolls waiting to rise.


Aiyanna's cinnamon rolls waiting to be devoured.


Hope your day is just as sweet as those rolls are up there!

♥