lovebirds

long time no blog. and saying goodbye...

2011-04-11T14:35:00.001-06:00

[say hi to whoopi! vegas trip 2010]

hi blogging world!

it's been a minute.

i hope all has been well.

i have been blogging elsewhere.

almost everyday actually...

i know. i'm surprised too.

no one knows about it except for our families.

i'm not quite ready to share it with you yet.. just because i've been writing about our recent happenings-- things that we can't share publicly yet. once this phase is over, i'm sure i will be letting you in on it. but until then... you can just imagine what it is. ;) [and no, i am not pregnant.]

anyway, i will be saying goodbye to this blog.

there is really no need for me to keep two. i will leave it for memories sake, but won't be updating it anymore.

so, thank you bloggy for all the good times!

and cheers to the new bloggy blog!

k, gotta go to a meeting.

happy monday!!

life is still beautiful

2011-03-13T17:06:00.000-06:00

we are back from hawaii. fortunately, we were able to get back home the day before the tsunami hit.
our life has been very chaotic since we've been home. i haven't had the time to absorb everything that's been happening. i'm completely devastated. i don't know what to think... i was having a meltdown when i wasn't able to reach my family in japan. not to worry, i was finally able to get in touch with them on saturday. they are all safe. just minor injuries. i am so grateful for the outpouring of love and kindness my friends have showed me. i wouldn't have gotten through without it and i am forever grateful.
thank you for being there when i needed you most. i will never forget those of you who were kind to me.

during this devastating time, we ask our friends and family to keep the people in japan in your prayers.

te quiero mucho to you all.

so...

2011-02-28T01:15:00.002-07:00

this week, we were *suppose to leave for hawaii.

turns out, it's going to be raining every single day while we are there.

ah... just thinking about it makes my head ache.

i swear i just gained couple of zits on my face from this.

let me demo you the emotional roller coaster i just went on.

top: this is when i found out about the weather.

middle: as you can tell, i was nothing but furious.

bottom: if mother nature were a person, i'd hunt him/her down.

top: after calling travelocity and finding out canceling the trip would cost $500.

second from the top: lehi giving me options on activities that we could do in the rain.

third from the top: somewhat made my peace with the crappy weather. but still hopeful.

bottom: but also still upset with mother nature for the cause of more wrinkles and zits.

family, sorry i've been m.i.a.

promise i will write you all emails soon.

friends, if i haven't commented on your bloggys lately, i'm sorry.

i've been very busy with life and other things.

i'm still alive and well. well.... except for the mini breakdown i had today.

i will catch up with you all later.

promise.

please still be my friend?

love, me.

oh, na, na

2011-02-01T03:18:00.005-07:00

last weekend, we took a spontaneous trip down to vegas.
yeah, i know. you've never met anyone who goes to vegas as much as we do, right?
you think we are gambling addicts? yeah, don't you worry. i'd think the same if i didn't know any better. and you know, it's not so much the night life that we look forward to.

it's the amazing restaurants, shopping, and shows that we love.

and it's a nice little getaway.

we left right after work on friday night. so, we didn't even get to vegas until 11-ish. poor will who was the driver was so tired and he just crashed in his bed. and his wife/my bestie sarah just followed him.

on the other hand, lehi and i were completely energized. i think we were just so excited to be out of utah. we just wanted to go out and feel the warm breeze. so, we decided to go out for a little dessert.

lehi and i love discovering new bars and restaurants. we checked out this new place which had the BEST Crème Brûlée. i also had their maracuja mojito and it was a-okay. nothing special. after our late night snack, we came back to the hotel. the crazy person that i am decided to go run on the treadmill. so i did. i ran for a mile. i had to stope when i started tasting blood in my breath. i am so out of shape it's ridiculous.

saturday morning we woke up super early. like 8AM. super early for a mini vacation, right?
we had breakfast and left the hotel at 10 to go shopping. while at the mall, we spotted some marketers from toyota. lehi and i have previously participated in their surveys. so, we knew that when you participate you get a free gift card. once we told that to will and sarah and got them excited about the free stuff, we HAD to go claim our free gift cards.
so we did. we test drove a lovely prius. bonded with the marketers. got a toyota bag full of yummy snacks and a free gift card to the movies. after shopping and our little adventure with the toyota crew the time was still before noon. so, we decided to catch a matinee with our free movie gift card. we saw no strings attached. it was ok. i felt really awkward the entire time more than anything. but hey! it was FREE. i can't complain.

after the movie we fought the traffic and went to fat burger. oh, good gracious. their burgers are sublime. i got their small burger. it was literally the size of my palm. and i paid $6 for that little thing! next time i'm paying the extra $1 and getting medium. stupid fat burger owned me. grrr.
definitely worth the hassle of parking and walking, though.
then we went to the world's biggest pinball hall. that's where i demonstrated my stellar pinball skills. ;) and yes, i totally look possessed in the picture above.

then we decided that we wanted to see pawn stars. so, we googled it. drove to the sketchy part of town while getting harassed by multiple homeless people on the way AND in the parking lot. it was worth it all. oh, and speaking of homeless guy, this guy approached us and offered to take pictures of us in front of the sign. as soon as he offered, i knew exactly what he was going to do, a.) he will either dash off with my camera, or b.) he will take pictures of us and ask for money. either way, i just didn't want to talk to anyone especially in the part of town we were in. so, i kindly declined. after i declined he went and harassed will and asked for money. good thing we all don't carry cash. anyway, the pawn shop was awesome.

for dinner, we headed to firefly. i know. i told you! we go to vegas to eat! we eat every three hours. we love food THAT much. and yes, you may call us fat. i prefer fatty though. anyway, the food was scrumptious as always. oh, and you see the picture above? that's my favorite tapas at firefly. it's bacon-wrapped, smoked almond, red wine reduction, with blue cheese. if that doesn't get your mouth salivating i don't know what will.

lehi and i were little cranky pants. we wanted more food.

sunday morning: i dragged all of them to anthroplogie inside of caesars. afterwards we treated ourselves with serendipity. while the boys watched sunday football, sarah and i ventured out to caesars grounds and found a hindu shrine.

our annual mystery adventures trip. it's really awesome. ask tripadvisor. they will agree with us. ;)

sayonara 2010

2011-01-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

(pictures from my iphone)

hello 2011.

we had such a wonderful time ringing in the new year with our besties. AND celebrating the birth of william. our weekend was filled with lots of laughter, good food, and more good food!

we are beyond excited for 2011.

cheers to amazing family/friends, more traveling, good health, and amazing food.

life is beautiful...

2010-12-20T23:16:00.006-07:00

and so are we. ;)

juuuust kidding. we are not that conceited.

today was a wonderful day. i had the day off to do whatever i wanted while lehi was at work. it was nice to have some time to get all the christmas gifts wrapped and somewhat clean the house. i may or may not have ate someone's present while wrapping others.

ok, i totally did. i have no self control. and you wouldn't too, if you had sweet tooth fairy's cakebites sitting in front of you!! oh, well. someone just won't receive a gift from the tenorio's this year.

our anniversary celebration was low key. nothing extravagant. just lehi, me, and good food. we ventured out to happy sumo. yuh, happy sumo. i told lehi that i wanted japanese. he said he wanted sumo. now, people who know me really well would know my true feelings for this place. buuuuut... because i love him a lot, i compromised. though, i must say, it wasn't all that bad. would i go back?-- no. but it was a wonderful dinner with my love. :)

then we went to barnes & noble to get caught up with all of our magazines for this month. barnes and noble date is one of my favorite things to do.

now we are home watching sports center. i'm so sad that the vikings didn't make it to the playoffs. i'm even more devastated that this season is going to be brett farve's last season. on a happier note, did you see the eagle's game!? ohhhmygosssshhhhhhh. i can't believe i missed the 4th quarter!! :( i watched some clips here and there on nfl channel and espn, but it's not the same! i wanted to watch it live. i'm incredibly sad about this still..... maybe we should get tivo? no, i'm too cheap. waaaaaa.

anyways, we didn't take any pictures at dinner. i hate myself for it.
so, we decided to take lame-o photo booth pictures to preserve memories of the day.

better than nothing, right? :)

how can you have self control when this is staring at you!?

merry-almost-Christmas!

finally...

2010-12-15T17:47:00.001-07:00

well well well... where do i even begin? i've been back from japan for a month now. i can't believe it's already been a month. no... do you want to know what i can't get over? our anniversary is next week. which means.... christmas is only 9 days away. and and.... that means 2011 it right around the corner.

wowza. where did time go?

i just found this picture on my friend's facebook. even though it's a bit blurry, i think it's one of my favorite pictures from the big day. (i'd like to think that my husband's cousin was too excited for us to stay still. :))

now, that-- that was the perfect moment. the first time coming out of the temple as married couple? ah, perfection. i just wish my stylist didn't flake out on me at the last minute, i wanted to wear my hair up. waaa waaa waaa.

oh, well.

anywaysss, here are some pictures of japan from my phone. yes, these were all taken from my phone.

you see, japanese people are super uptight with cameras in their stores. so, i couldn't really bust out my big canon in the store, let alone walk in the store with my gear. so, pretty much my phone came to the rescue and helped me preserve memories.

so... are you ready for this?

and just so you know, this isn't everything. i still have gazillion pictures in my phone and i have few memory cards from my point and shoot that i still need to upload. goodness gracious. i will never be done.

that will be my new years resolution.

(pictures are not in order, sorry!)

one of my favorite things in japan: mr. donuts.

another favorite thing of mine in japan: cakes. you will never see me eat cake in the states. EVER.

right: this is what i looked like most of the time. always searching for wifi, so i can facetime with lehi.

left: on the bus to the airport.

right: the day after we landed in hokkaido, we did a 7-11 run at 5AM.

right: gindako's takoyaki. a.k.a octopus balls. it doesn't really contain octopus balls, we say "balls" because of the shape.

left: sari vs. octo: octo wins!

right: our favorite fast food restaurant in japan: moss burger.

left: double moss burger. our las meal in japan. :(

right: the day after we landed, we ventured out to muscle park in chitose for a little work out.

left: before our obstacle race. i should mention that i won almost breaking the record at 39 sec. booyah.

right: my grand mama's family grave.

left: my cute little grand mama.

right: all you can eat crab buffet at meisuitei.

left: sari vs. crab: sari wins!

right: our room at meisuitei.

left: shiatsu massage is a must in japan!

right and left: our last hour with ji-chan and ba-chan. :(

waiting for la bus.

right: it's absolutely normal to have ginormous stuffed animal at super markets.

left: they need to bring 17 ice cream to the states. best ice cream for 120 yen!

right: sari and her yucky plane food.

left: me trying not to through up from the smell of the plane food.

everything is just better and healthier in japan. even mickey-D's. (not to say that mcdonalds is healthy, but it's healthier.)

right: melon soda.

left: lost!?

right: nipple enhancers are a must.

left: i honestly felt like i was in japan seeing these mannequins.

right: muki. best invention ever.

left: who wouldn't want their butts to smell like mangoes, peaches, and grapes!?

right: another must have fashion trend in japan.

left: sari's gone bananas.

going home... :(

in otaru. i was almost taken by the wind. no joke. it was that windy!

gyukaku. best kind of bbq.

right: sapporo. left: sari amazed by the people in the subway.

left: notice something??

top: disney cubed.

じっちゃん、ばっちゃん、アンちゃん！

今週中に電話するから！

バイビー！

p.s

somewhere along the way i started to get left and right confused. yes, i'm an idiot. and i have no intentions of fixing them right now.

love me.

remember zuzu?

2010-10-25T14:30:00.000-06:00

mr. paul. i'd kiss your hands if i could. in a non-creepy way.

seriously. i want him to take video of my future babies. how talented is he!?

and my friends baby is the most precious thing.

period.

lovely date night

2010-10-24T23:07:00.004-06:00

lehi and i have been working awfully a lot this past week, so we rewarded ourselves with a lovely night out. we started off the evening by having dinner at harvest, followed by light shopping at the mall, then a movie to conclude the night.

harvest was amazing. especially their nachos. oh, my....and i loved our table. we sat right by the fireplace. and the movie the social network was awesome. i loved coming out of the theater and feeling the fall breeze on my face. i love fall. i'm going to miss it... only have 8 more days to enjoy it. unless fall decides to stick around even after i get back from japan.

did i tell you how excited i am for my trip back home? i'm sure i have. but let it be known. i am BEYOND EXCITED. a little sad that lehi won't be coming with me. a lot sad actually.... but i can't wait to show my bestie where i grew up. it'll be a great experience for the both of us. 8 more days! ah. i'm getting so sick. my throat has been hurting a lot. i hope i can get over this cold before our departure!!

practicing our blue steel.

"The success of other people does not equal your failure."

2010-10-21T16:16:00.002-06:00

it's happened to a lot of people.
life is ok, we’re trudging along, and then suddenly out of the blue, someone we know hits it big financially with their business. another gets married to a perfect spouse. another finds their dream career.
and here you are in a job you hate, mountains of debt piling up to your ears, and the feeling that you’ll be perpetually single. You feel a toxic concoction of jealousy, envy, and resentment toward them AND yourself as well, build within you, all masked by that perfect, nice, fake smile you give when you see them to congratulate them.
then comes the pity party. ”why not me?
life’s not fair.
i can't catch a break to save my life.”
the usual default response after time passes by. so given this nasty concoction of jealousy, envy, and resentment followed by the big pity party, how on earth can we not only feel GENUINLEY happy for other people, but about ourselves as well in the process?
can it be done?
is it too much to ask for both?

i really love this post by stephanie.

"Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success."
- Oscar Wilde

i love the word "additional"

2010-10-20T14:03:00.002-06:00

sometimes i ask myself what my talent is. i have to really think about it. i feel like i'm mediocre at everything.
but then one thing pops into my mind. and that's shopping. i'm a bargain hunter.

i can honestly tell you that i have a gift. you should come shopping with me. i'll show you. my friends love me for this reason. i've been searching for this specific marc jacobs watch high and low forever. and i found it in vegas on sale. plus additional 20% off. the final cost was $49.99 plus tax. on the left: i bought lehi this michael kors watch for only $139.99. that's a bargain if you ask me. this baby is originally $250. cha-ching.

we found a lot of great finds this trip.
mama, you'd be so proud!

another awesome thing about vegas:

FOOD.

hash house is one of our favorites. it's off the strip, but it's well worth the drive.

and 3am snack at cafe bellagio is always awesome. their pistachio, praline, and vanilla crème brulée was heavenly.

fly like a g6

2010-10-18T22:39:00.008-06:00

{left: walking around the hotel the first night. right: 3am-ish. after pure. me: finally realizing that i'm not physically capable of clubbing in the wee hours. lehi: just happy as a clam.}

{left: driving down the strip busting out ghetto music is always cool. sorta. right: at our favorite restaurant: firefly}

{left: ayme: dressed for the occasion. me: dressed in lehi's shirt since i forgot my tops. thank goodness for the boyfriend trend. right: bellagio always have amazing displays!}

{left: dinner at the lovely bouchon. right: we made a new friend. oh, and don't worry about how i'm standing. my right foot had a huge blister and i couldn't put my weight on it. in fact, i still can't. ha.}

more pictures coming soon, fambamily and amigos.
i'm still beat from two nights ago.

nighty-night.

bottoms up

2010-10-18T17:05:00.000-06:00

we took a quick trip to vegas this past weekend.

we partied like rockstars. i feel like a truck drove over me.

it reminded me that my body cannot tolerate what it could when i was single.

i will be sorting through gazillion pictures that we took and posting them soon.

あと、１６日でやっと日本に帰れるぅー！超楽しみぃぃぃ。

やっと、愛しのお寿司が食べられる～。マジ泣きそう。４年ぶりーーー！イエイ！イエイ！イエーイ！　

cheese on a stick

2010-10-09T01:39:00.003-06:00

and potstickers. mmm. that's what i ate today for dinner.
totally random, i know. but i just can't stop thinking about it.

i'm weird, i know. what's new?

today was an eventful day. it's been a week since i got my wisdom teeth extracted and i was finally able to eat chocolate. the most triumphant moment in my life.
i've been dying without solid food.
thank goodness my jaw has gotten less stiff.

i bought my tickets to japan today. i'm mad excited about my trip back home. it's been too long.
i'm also excited to show my bestie where i grew up. and take her to all my favorite restaurants and shops.
i'm a little sad that lehi won't be going with me... :(

he's been working like a mad man the past couple of months. words cannot describe my appreciation for him and his efforts. i feel like i'm failing as a wife. i only work part-time and i don't do nearly as enough household duties as i should. when i work 7-8 hours, i come back home and on the verge of death. i use my anemia as my excuse. ha... on the other hand, lehi goes to work at 7:30 and doesn't come back most days until 8-9.

lately, i can see that he is becoming more and more mentally and physically drained. i feel completely helpless. i wish i can give him all my energy and strength. i wish i can take off his workload. ah... i'm a woman with lots of wishes. ya, i won't go too much into that.

all in all, this week was full of good things.

(when we purchased our tickets. the only picture that we took of me... i closed my eyes. oops.)

phoenix {9/23/2010}

2010-09-29T15:56:00.008-06:00

those of you who know me will know my small obsession with this band.

i love all their albums. love. it's one of those bands that really affect your mood. in a good way.

this concert was the first general admission concert that lehi (pit pro) and i went together.

he was extremely worried for my life in the pit. i mean, i'm a small person. i don't blame him for worrying about my well being. but i think he underestimated me. and i think we underestimated the fans. i was thinking the pit wouldn't be that bad since phoenix isn't a hardcore band. boy, was i wrong.

the pit is where the hardcore fans go, and there is no mellowness there. none whatsoever.

the area that i was in was pretty rough. extreme variety of body odors were lingering. and the tall guy in front of me almost elbowed me in the face few times. aside from that, i held my ground.

the highlight of the night was after the encore. thomas mars (the lead singer) came in to the crowd and started walking towards me. i freaked out, and as he was trying to pass by i hugged him for a good 3 seconds. and lehi held on to him for the longest i think and he messed his hair. ha. i thought it was hilarious.

we didn't take pictures that much because... well, we didn't want to risk losing or breaking our phones. in fact, i didn't even take my phone. so, lehi was in charge of taking pictures and videos.

so, here are few pictures that he took and a video my brother-in-law took.

and this is me after the concert. beat.

and slightly high from the concert.

still baby hungry

2010-09-13T23:45:00.006-06:00

how cute are these little chitlins.

my friends have ridiculously good lookin' babies. like pampers model worthy-babies.

proof:

seriously. i cannot.get.enough.of.them.

i want to spread them on a cracker and eat them. they are THAT cute.

i posted more on facebook. it's heart-melting, i tell ya.

i mean, c'mon! look at these cute little faces.

they are the closest thing to God.

so pure. such angels.

don't you agree?

for sale

2010-09-08T13:56:00.005-06:00

remember this?

ya, i loved it. i still do, but unfortunately it's been sitting on my desk collecting dust since june.

there is nothing wrong with it. it just doesn't fit on my iphone 4.

i'm asking $20 from all you locals. if you want me to ship it to you the cost is $25 including shipping.

you know you want it.

it's so purtey. and it's a steal.

you can contact me via e-mail. it's on the sidebar. :)

p.s

~~i'm also selling two lion king tickets for the 23rd of this month. sec. mezz. row 2j. seats: 101&102~~

~~$150 for the pair.~~

SOLD

i need to sell them because i'm going to phoenix. eeeek. so excited.

not rational

2010-09-07T00:46:00.015-06:00

that's the name of the diaper bag that i want. i decided this morning at 3 AM.

i have been sick all weekend long. i know, i know. i get sick often. this is true.

i suppose my immune system is awfully weak...

anyway, today was a beautiful day and i stayed home most of the day just staring out the beautiful cloudless sky.

around 3-ish o'clock, lehi called me from work and told me to get ready. he said that he didn't want this beautiful day to go to waste. i did my best to look decent while being sick. the skin on the bottom of my nose peeling, my nose constantly running, and i had huge black bags under my eyes from going to bed early this morning. so, i did what i could to make myself feel cute. (fyi...there wasn't much success, it's just hard to feel pretty no matter what you do when you are sick.)

once lehi got back home, he told me that we were going to park city. well, those of you who know me will know that i love park city. i love the drive, the scenery, j.crew outlet (sometimes), tj maxx,and most of all... i love the restaurants. i love good food. we used to spend more on eating out than our rent. those were the good newlywed days.

needless to say, i was just giddy the whole way up to park city. just loving the beautiful scenery of the canyon. ah. i love provo canyon. oh, and the music selection? ah, today was good as always. good music + beautiful scenery + good company = amazing time. this is all i need. i love that lehi appreciate music as much as i do.... ok, more than i do. and that says a lot. because my love for music is intense. and he surpasses that level. he LOVES music. we always get into small arguments about who knew about which band first or who went to the most concerts. ya know? just little ~~dumb~~ things like that. well, todays playlist was good as always. we listened to arcade fire's new album "the suburbs." oh, speaking of arcade fire! you all need to check out their site. it's creepy/awesome. p.s just make sure you use google chrome when you use it. click here. try it and tell me what you think.

going back to our drive... it was nice and short. i long for looong road trips. i think it's time for us to head down south. but in the mean time, park city will have to do. the weather up there was beautiful, but chilly! we made our first stop at j.crew. it seems like we got there a little too late. i can tell that they had great items, they just didn't have my size anymore. :( but i did end up walking out of the store with two cute undershirts.

then, i made a quick stop at coach. i never go in there. well, i only go in there in december. yes, only in december. i know, i'm weird. what's new? anyway, coach! something told me to go in there. so i did. and lo and behold, they had 50% off sale + additional 20% off form all your purchase. today only.

i went straight to the back of the store and looked for my little purse that was calling out my name. and BAM. i came across this gem first.

ok, seriously. how ridiculously pretty is this blue canvas tote/messenger bag? it could be a diaper bag, church bag, school bag, or a carryon bag! talk about versatility! the best part? it was $80.

i wanted to die. but lehi told me that i already had a church bag, school bag, AND a carryon bag. so, i couldn't justify bringing this baby back home with me. i told him though... if i was single, i would have snatched that baby up in a second and starved myself for two days. the picture doesn't do justice.

anyway, i found another bag. this was more of a daily purse. the one that i have right now is starting to fall apart. when lehi and i first got married he made me promise that i would only buy a purse every other year. and it's been almost two years since i purchased my last purse.

well, i spent good 15 min or so in the store. usually when i can't make up my mind on something after 5 min, i put it on hold and think about it while i finish up my shopping. well, while we were shopping i was thinking really hard about this purchase. i started to feel really bad purchasing an item that is not exactly cheap. and i've been spending a little more than i should lately. so, i decided to wait until december. but then lehi pretty much dragged me back to the store to get the purse.

he is so sweet. he spoils me a lot. but i know that we won't be able to do the things that we do now once we have a baby. so, i'm taking lehi's advise and enjoy it while i can. :)

and this little gem is going to be my new companion until december, 2012.

(doesn't that seem so far away?)

i loff it a lot.

i'm into saturated colors lately. i think it's purtey.

who knows... the next purse that i purchase maybe a diaper bag. ha.

yeaaaaaah. i'm totally still baby hungry.

baby hunger strikes

2010-09-02T15:14:00.001-06:00

i want a baby. i'm baby hungry today.

good thing i'm babysitting my cute nephew on saturday.

he usually takes my baby hunger away.

i can't wait to have kids. seriously. if i could, i'd get pregnant tonight. only if i could...

i keep thinking about my babies. how they will be. what they will look like.

i dream about them.

when i was growing up, i'd often think about my future husband.

i'd pray for him.

i always wondered what he will look like.

i'm so in love with my husband, it's ridiculous.

i honestly can't believe that our marriage is THIS good.

it's so surreal.

i never thought that my marriage would be this good.

there isn't a day that i don't feel like i hit the jackpot.

i think marrying my best friend who knew me inside and out before we started dating was the best thing i've done in my life. i mean, yes, it was a little weird at first... but i can honestly testify and say that it has made our marriage so much easier. SO much. my love for him grows everyday.

and i can't wait to have our little babies! cannot.wait.

i already love them so much.

how is this possible? to already love something that you don't even have.

my heart just melts when i think about them.

i know that lehi will be the best father in the world. and i know that he will help me become the best mother in the world for our babies.

babies... is it me, or does that word starting to sound funny? ha.

maybe it's just because i've said it gazillion times.

anyway, i want those moccasins for my baby.

could it be any cuter?

in the words on rachel zoe "they are so major" ha.

did i tell you that i love her so much? SO much.

i want to live her life for a day. just for one day...

even though she has luxurious cars, clothes, house, personal stylist, and a gay wingman, i'd much rather prefer my life.

life is good.

i never share my secrets...

2010-08-27T01:26:00.004-06:00

you see, i usually don't share a lot of good finds with others. i'm selfish like that. i get some kind of satisfaction from knowing that i'm the only one that knows about something. something good.

but today i'm feeling pretty generous.

you see, my awesome girl friend makes these beautiful blossoms by hand. yes, it's all handmade with love!

the great thing about them is-- it's pin-less! she uses magnets instead, so you don't get holes in your favorite clothes. genius, right?

anyway, i really think you all should go check out her store. and make sure to check out ALL of her pictures. it's like flipping through a magazine. she has an impeccable style. she styled and put together all her outfits for the images. you can learn a thing or two from it.

click below:

pretty visage

off to tear down tokyo

2010-08-26T12:03:00.001-06:00

i've been wanting to post these pictures for a while...

my little brother got called to serve a full-time mission in tokyo, japan.

he entered the mtc on july 14th. needless to say, it was a bitter sweet moment.

but we are just so proud of him. it's been already a month since he's been out there... you see, he's already fluent in the language, so he was sent there early.

i have no doubt that he will do amazing things in japan.

we love you, andy!

i love this

retail therapy + buffalo burger

2010-08-21T01:30:00.004-06:00

my bestie sarah and i made a little spontaneous trip to park city since our boys are in wendover for the weekend. and let me just say.... tanger outlets can suck it.

it's always a hit and miss for me there.

i had high hope for j.crew, but they failed me miserably.

after the huge disappointment we decided to head over to tj.maxx. and ooooooooooo tj did not disappoint! they never let me down. EVER.

i spent two months worth of play money.

yup. two months, but it's all good hood.

hahaha.... "it's all good in the hood?" excuse me. i've been listening to so much hip hop/rap lately. i'm in that ghetto phase. i'm starting to talk a bit of ebonix.

anyway, i deserved to buy all the things i bought today.

you wanna know why? well, i've been busting my little booty off for the past two weeks. i've been working more hours. SO... it's justified.

after shopping we went to a bar called no name on main street. they are known for their buffalo burgers. so, naturally we had to try them out. we got their bbq buffalo burger. it was pretty scrumptious.

(i know the quality of the images are atrocious, but it's better than nothing. you can kinda see my short hair in the image below. can you see it!?? )

this is why i use dove.

2010-08-19T14:48:00.001-06:00

mas mas mas mas!

2010-08-18T20:54:00.002-06:00

this summer i have found hi-chew being sold at walgreens!!

i grew up eating this delicious mouth watering treat.

i can't believe that they sell it a block away from me.

this is big news, people.

have you ever had hi-chew?!

you must try it.

do it for me.

no, do it for yourself.

it'll be the best thing you will ever do.

my favorite flavor is mango. mmm

i made sarah a count down paper chain for her cubical!

what is this for, you ask?

well... my bestie and i are going to visit my motherland in november!

i don't have to tell you how excited i am.

i have missed it oh, so much.

76 days left.

nomake at lagoon

2010-08-18T19:06:00.003-06:00

(*nomake means no make-up, au natural in japanese. )
last friday our company held their annual lagoon party.

we look forward for this every year because we get free entrance, free food, AND we get paid to play.

seriously, it's awesomeness all around.

hahahaha..... i know this is super random, but i'm watching property virgins and this girl who is the buyer's friend is beyond annoying! she's acting like she's the one buying a house.

oh, and the buyer just said "o-m-g."

really!? you are NOT paris hilton.

and i love sandra so much. she is BOLD.

my kinda lady.

sorry, that was way off topic.

but i just had to say something about it.

anyway, lagoon was lots of fun. although, i probably should mention that we only went on 4 rides. the ride "wicked: seriously almost killed me. i used to be a huge fan of extreme rides, but my body can't seem to handle it anymore. i couldn't handle the fact that my body was getting old. so, i decided to force myself to go on extreme rides. it was my plan to retrain my body.

if astronauts can train their bodies to get used to high g-force, there is no reason why i wouldn't be able to do it. so, i went on the oldest roller coaster in the park. supposedly, people get extremely sick from this ride. i saw it as a perfect opportunity to retrain my body. the first time i went on it, i almost blacked-out.

and being the stubborn person that i am... i had to prove that i it didn't effect me. so, i went on it the second time. yeah, i had another near-black-out-experience. hopefully i was able to teach my body who the boss is.

23 and my mind and body isn't in sync.

this is no bueno.

hopefully i won't have as hard of a time next year....

p.s i totally stopped wearing makeup. so, if you see me around and if i look sick. i'm not. i'm just not wearing makeup. just fyi....

we'll just see how long this will last.

p.p.s
this is before i got my hair chopped. it's just pulled back. :)

chop. chop. chopped 7 inches.

2010-08-16T13:15:00.001-06:00

yup. i chopped off 7 inches. it's so short i don't know what to do with it. i've always had long hair, so i'm naturally a little indifferent about it. but it'll grow out. (my hair grows like weed) whatever.

but i LOVE my stylist. he is indeed a hair god.

so, i have lots to catch up on.

can you believe that it's already august? i sure can't. i can feel the summer winding down already.

mornings are starting to smell like fall. you know that smell? yeah... i love that smell.

anyway, august has been an eventful month thus far. we celebrated lehi's 25th birthday on the 5th.

and we've been doing lots of fun activities.

i'll let the images speak for itself.

-caution-

there will be LOTS of pictures.

tasty treat

2010-08-07T13:22:00.001-06:00

clearing things up.

2010-07-30T13:32:00.000-06:00

hi,

i'm not bitter anymore. not to worry.

i'm just writing this post to clear few things up.

first off, i'm sorry for using colorful metaphors in my previous post.

i usually am good at not letting not-so-pleasant-sasha out of my car. (i have THE worst road rage.)

secondly, i took that blog off of my google reader. just fyi.... and it felt good. i took couple of other blogs off too. do you have a blog that you read often that brings negative chi to your life? you should delete it. it feels good.

thirdly, this was a good reality check for me. why learn the hard way when you can learn from other's mistakes? (someone wise told me that once.)

i think i will be more careful and aware of what i say on here now...

anyway, that was it.

i hope you all have a great weekend!

and thank you for reassuring me that i'm not a psycho sensitive individual.

p.s -MB i'm working on the font!! i know it's super hard to read. i even struggle. ha. it takes me a while because i have to change it with HTML.

p.p.s

i'm going crawdad catching tomorrow. i don't even know what a crawdad is.(i'm from japan, so don't judge.) i just know that they look like mini lobsters.

so much hate and cynicism

2010-07-29T15:17:00.003-06:00

i'm sorry, but i have to admit... there are SO many people in the world (especially the blogging world) that are full of shit. they put up this facade. (they probably don't even realize it) showing the world how spiritual they are and the next day post something that is very hurtful. and this is partially the reason why i took a long break from blogging. it's just mentally unhealthy.

you know... some people choose to use facades as a way to protect themselves. they either feel they are at disadvantage if they are too honest with people or they are worried that people will not "like them" the way they are, so they show something else they think you WILL like.

it boggles my mind that people "love" this one particular person's blog.

i used to read it because i liked the way the author wrote . but after this one post... i was instantly turned off.

i feel like i've never been fed so much negativity from a blog before.

and reading this one particular post it showed me that she wasn't happy with her marriage. and unfortunately, from those insecurities she had to bash on this one particular loving couple in public. kinda made me sorry for her. i mean, i have insecurities too and sometimes not-so-nice-things may pop in my mind, but i keep those little thoughts to myself and lock it up in a tiny box that's in my head. i think some people should start doing that more often.

there is a saying in japanese. and this is my personal mantra.

自分に人からされたいことを人にしてあげて、人から自分にされたくないことはしない。

it pretty much means; do things for others that you would want them to do for you. and don't do things that you wouldn't want others to do to you.

simple, right?

sorry.. this was extremely random. but i had to vent.

i'm just a uber sensitive person.

Life is hard

2010-07-26T14:04:00.002-06:00

do you ever come across amazing finds when you're not looking for anything particular to buy?

well, that's the story of my life.

i went to park city couple days ago to buy lehi a present and i didn't find ANYTHING for him. instead, i found tons of cute items for me. which rarely happens. naturally, i had to purchase them.

it was a no brainer. it was love at first sight. AND additional 30% off from the red tag. i love the word "additional." don't you? (britt, i want you back for THIS reason.)

i don't know if it's because of the heat, but i am looking forward to fall/winter. i can't wait to start wearing cardigans, layers, boots, jackets, and hats. lately, i've been obsessed with making our fall/winter must have list. oh, and i found the perfect top for new years eve. it's perfect. i want it so badly. and of course, it HAS to be over $100. it's quite depressing when you fall in love with a shirt that costs more than all your utilities combined. it hurts my soul.

lookie how beautiful!!

my life is so tough.

(i say that with sarcasm... fyi. don't take offense to it.)

now that i'm married, single life seems incredibly depressing... no offense, single ladies.

but really... i know i sound pathetic when i say this, but i have no shame to admit that i am incredibly dependent on my husband. i honestly wish that we were conjoined at the hip.

however, if i were to pick one thing, one thing that i miss most about being single...

it would be having my own money. not sharing it with anyone else.

i miss being able to purchase boots even if it's $200. (it must be love at first sight) i can eat off of the dollar menu for couple of days to compensate for the purchase. sadly, my priorities have changed since then...

food comes before shopping. i'm still trying to adjust my mentality. and it's uber hard.

now that i'm happily married, we have created a little system called "play money." what's play money you ask? well, play money is like little tokens. we each get "play money" twice a month. and we can do WHATEVER we WANT with it. sadly, majority of the things that i fall in love with are usually a year worth of play money.

ok, i'm totally over exaggerating, it's usually two month worth. so, i really have to think about my purchases. and yes, sometimes i cheat. but i say it's all good. because technically, i'm trying to look good for my husband. therefore, he should automatically forgive me for my impulsive purchases. :)

well, here are some dresses that's been in my wishlist for a while...
aren't they beautiful? it's not often that i find pretty modest dresses like these.

modesty does not come at a cheap price tag.

ok, i'm done torturing myself for the day.

good day.

getting my blog groove back

2010-07-22T14:45:00.003-06:00

so, i know that this is old news, but i thought i'd post pictures on here for memories' sake.

these pictures were taken on my birthday.

lehi took me to the waldorf astoria in park city. it was beautiful.

and for the record, this year topped last year's birthday.

it was woooonderful!

late night fun at miracle bowl.

i swear... we'll never grow up.

but life is soo much better that way.

don't you agree?

in yo face, suckas

2010-07-22T02:22:00.003-06:00

i hate little ungrateful-know-it-all high school kids.
they are little punks and they should be sent to a third world country to learn some valuable lesson.

so, we went to nickel city again. (i'm tellin ya, we keep this place thriving.)
and we ran into these little disrespectful punks. and i was seriously about to lose my cool.
(and p.s i only had 4 hours of sleep last night, so we all know how i can be without my sleep!)
i wanted to say something so so badly.
but i bit my tongue and didn't say anything.

later on lehi, will, and josue decided to play laser tag for the second time, and they ended up playing against the little d-bag punks. and according to the boys the little punks were trash talking so much. dropping the f-bomb every other word. disrespecting them in every way possible. ugh. just thinking about it makes me want to pop their eyes out and smash their head against the curb...............

whoa. where did that come from..? i promise that i'm not a violent person. that just came out of no where... it's just ... i'm just very protective of my family. ya know?
i swear... if any one were to disrespect my family. MY family?

i will bring back pearl harbor.
it's in my blood.

thankfully, i didn't have to go kamikaze on those punks. my boys owned them BIG time playing laser tag. just hearing about the game was liberating. to know that they lost. ha.
in yo face suckas.

all in all, it was a good night. thanks to the boys.

kol

2010-07-21T16:10:00.000-06:00

lehi and i went to the kol concert couple days ago and we had such a great time.

the concert was epic. the weather was ideal. it was perfection.

i judge people... do you? of course you do.

2010-07-11T20:40:00.008-06:00

i totally judge people. in fact, i do it often.

whether i say it out loud or it's just thoughts going through my mind....

i do it.

and i know a lot of you do it as well.

why do we judge people? whether it is giving that girl in the awful flower head-band that's bigger than her head a crappy glance, or talking about people who sometimes make mistakes....what gives ANYONE the right to say anything?

i will admit that i often do this. i believe at some time or another all of us have. but why? is it jealousy? do we really have a dislike for certain people that we have barely met? or are we simply trying to boost our ego's by judging people? nothing feels worse than judging someone, and then getting to know them a little better, and knowing what a jerk you were... often times the circumstances that lead us to judge others, are not true or not the whole story.

what kind of person does that make you or me? i know that we have all done or said things in the past that we were not proud of... what if someone only knew that about you? they didn't know the real you, but because of your 'mistake' they took it upon themselves to figure that you were a bad person... i have been judged, and that sucks. i know a lot of us have... knowing the pain of that, why do we still judge others?

this is something i have been pondering over the past few days...

i have two friends that i respect tremendously. (i will call them M and S) i'm not saying that they don't judge. because i'm sure they do. but the biggest difference between M, S and i is the fact that i let my prejudgements stop me from getting to know people. i wish i can be more like them. i told lehi that i am incredibly envious and jealous of this quality.

also, my mind has a bad habit of categorizing people and fit them into these neat little cubby holes. i know. i'm horrible. but you know.. it's funny that i've been in denial for so long. i didn't want to think that i was one of those people. i mean, i had all sorts of friends in high school. i was the girl who got a long with everyone from ALL the groups. but alas, that's a little different. the fact is..... i judge.
this is my thought process when meeting a new person:

1. meet someone new

2. judge them

3. categorized them

4. become reserved (depending on the category)

(most likely if the other person is anything like me, they will have a similar thought process. they will most likely think that i am "stuck up" or "snobby" because i'm reserved.) because of these prejudgements we instantly lose a potential great friend. you never know what you may have in common with the other person until you give them a chance to get to know them.

and lately, i've been really trying to work on my flaws before we start having babies. i don't want my kids to learn these bad habits that i have.

i want to try to put myself out there. try to get to know people better. and not judge them. even if i get shut down every now and then... i guess that's the risk that i'll have to take.

anyway, this was just some thoughts that were going through my mind earlier. i just felt like i had to write it.

anyway, here is a small random update:

(keep in mind that these are iphone quality pics. oh, but not just an iphone. it's iphone 4. yes, i'm totally bragging. because guess what? i think i earned the right when i camped out from 2 am to get it. so, there. BAM)

we went to eat sushi and i got sick. nasty sushi.

it was her birthday. so, we celebrated like true mature adults and partied at nickel city til midnight.

love her to death.

one of my favorite restaurants in provo. we've been eating lots of indian food lately. and i still can't get enough of it.

and lastly, spending lots of quality time with family and husband has made my summer so so so amazing so far.

ah hell...

2010-06-20T22:36:00.000-06:00

this is how i feel right now.

this past week has been insanely busy.

BUSY.

and i finally thought i'd get my much needed rest this weekend, but noooo.

we got a call from the second counselor last night and we were asked to speak in church.

we happily took on the job.

i thought it wouldn't be a big deal to talk in front of people since i do it quite frequently.

but you see, when i do speak in front of LOTS of people. it's usually in japanese.

regardless, i wasn't afraid to give a talk. i felt very content and confident.

the topic? meh. not so much my thing. but whatever. i can wing it.

well, i got my talk ready in less than two hours. and since our printer was broken and i wanted to be all cool and tech savvy, so i decided to import my talk into our ipad. BIG MISTAKE.

i had a freak-out-dead-silent-moment when my ipad decided to delete half of my talk.

wtf?

i swear... after that it was AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL.

i was panicking in my mind, trying to figure out how to retrieve the info back. the more i freaked out the more i chocked up and i couldn't even remember my name! baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

who am i?
i mean, public speaking is not my forte, but seriously? that just happened to me.

anyway, so i couldn't remember what i wrote.

so i had to wing the whole thing. thankfully the long quotes that i had on there was not deleted!
life. saver.

ah. never. never. never rely on technology, friends.

i still can't believe this happened to me.

i feel like i completely lost face.

i felt like i was naked in front of hundreds of people.

well, i don't think i've been more embarrassed in my life.

i almost want to change wards because of this incident.

ha. i'm being so ridiculously dramatic.

aside from today's extremely traumatic experience our new byu student ward has been treating us well... so far.

although, some days i feel like it's far more intense than a singles-meat-market ward.

trying to get along with ladies with VERY different personalities is a challenge.

i'll tell you that much.

i'm just thankful that my best friend goes to the same ward.
thank heavens!

anyway, all is well. except, i'm still working on getting my health up to par.
prayers would be nice. i have lots of doctor's appointment as soon as this block ends, so wish me luck!

p.s

thank you to all my lovely girlfriends who cared enough to send me a text or an email this past month. it means the world to me. just a little gesture like that really really truly brightened up my day. you all just proved to me that there ARE good kind hearted people in this world. so THANK YOU.

2010-05-04T14:14:00.003-06:00

my body is ill. will be back when it heals.

hope all is well in the blogging world.

p.s
i know that my blog is a mess.
it will stay this way until i recover.

much love,

on my mind...

2010-04-22T15:18:00.001-06:00

"there is a tide in the affairs of men. which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune..."

listen...

2010-04-20T17:37:00.004-06:00

are you looking for a place?

are you looking for a fabulous space?

are you clean?

are you responsible?

are you courteous?

are you a non-smoker?

if you answered "yes" to all of the above,

live here.

* and you can't be a compulsive lier.

and guess what? if you know someone who is looking for a place SPREAD THE WORD.

because if you help my friends find a lovely renter, you might just be rewarded with something lovely in return.

seriously.

help them spread the word.

pretty please?

because i'm lame

2010-04-14T14:40:00.003-06:00

and i have nothing to blog about. here is a little about us.

he.
1. Sitting in front of the TV, what's on the screen? espn.
2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? caesar.
3. What's one food he doesn't like? pork.
4. You go out to a restaurant, what does he get to drink? water.
5. Where did he go to high school? roosevelt high school in lima, peru.
6. What is one phrase he says all the time? "what the crap....", "epic"
7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? watches. just like his dad.
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? turkey avocado bacon on focaccia.
9. What would this person eat everyday if he could? he can't eat the same food everyday.
10. What is his favorite cereal? chex.
11. What would he never wear? anything thug-ish, metro-ish, emo-ish.
12. What is his favorite sports team? miami dolphins. lakers. yankees.
13. Who is his best friend? me, his brothers, will, daniel, sergio.... gosh. the man has gazillion best friends!
14. How many states has he lived in? ah... states or countries? utah, california, puerto rico, lima, mexico city.... etc.
15. Does he have any nervous habits? biting cuticles, moving his foot, and his hands starts to get super clammy.
16. What could he spend hours doing? iphone stuff. playing porker.
17. He is: hard-working, sweet, loving, caring, great in bed, spiritual, my best friend.

she.
1. Sitting in front of the TV, what's on the screen? hgtv. hbo. history channel. espn-when i don't have control over the remote.
2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does she get on her salad? italian, asian sesame or caesar.
3. What's one food she doesn't like? tomatoes, pickles, mayo, any fruit that's been cooked. i.e pie with fruits, jam... you get the idea. fruit should never be heated.
4. You go out to a restaurant, what does she get to drink? water.
5. Where did she go to high school? h.i.s
6. What is one phrase she says all the time? "i don't know", "i'm so tired", "you're crazy"
7. If she was to collect anything, what would it be? shoes, kitchenware, vintage cameras,
8. What is her favorite type of sandwich? meatball sub. or turkey avocado bacon on focaccia.
9. What would this person eat everyday if she could? sushi. not american sushi. fresh hokkaido sushi.
10. What is her favorite cereal? wheat squares and mini-wheats.
11. What would she never wear? BIG FLOWER HEADBANDS. AND THE BIG KNITTED FLOWER HEADBANDS.
12. What does she always wear? jeans, cardigan, gold initial necklace.
13. Who will she vote for? politics is taboo. i will only talk politics with my philosophy professor and few other friends.
14. Who is her best friend? lehi and all my girls. you know who you are. :) oh, and will. he's like my brother.
15. How many states has she lived in? hokkaido, ohio, utah.
16. Does she have any nervous habits? itching.
17. What could she spend hours doing? cleaning, talking to my friends, sitting on the couch with lehi doing nothing. i have the rare ability to be happy without doing anything. well, as long as lehi is next to me.
18. She is: "sprite"- aaron wilson. whatever that means.

i tag: car, lara, britt, juju, audrey, MB, kenz, and everyone else.

it's time...

2010-04-09T14:43:00.003-06:00

yup. that's right.

it's time for my family's annual yard sale!

i'm so excited to get rid of stuff.

simplify my closet. my house.

such a good feeling.

you should come by and say hi.

i would love to see you!

where: the red house

1035 s. coventry cir.

orem, utah

when: this saturday!

time: 8-2

my bijos

2010-04-07T21:46:00.000-06:00

all i'm going to say is...

amazing photographer + beautiful backdrop + my beautiful ladies - cold weather = a good good time.

meet my girls from bijo. :) except for miss audrey-porcelin-doll who is sitting on the left is not really part of bijo.

this picture is just s sneak peak taken with a phone camera.

real stuff to come soon.

on my mind...

2010-04-01T00:06:00.006-06:00

i know i've blogged about this gazillion times. but i can't help it.

i'm boggled. stunned. astounded.

why would you do this to your baby?

what did your precious baby do to ever deserve this?

it hurts me. reaaaaaally hurts me. i can't help but to notice this horrendous trend all over utah county.

it's even worse when you see adults walking around wearing these. ah...

really.. WHY?

i can't understand.

i just can't.

it's like that sagging thug pants trend. ok, not really. but i can't stand that look either.

i want to go up to them and pull their pants down. they might as well not wear any! ugh. ridiculous.

case in point:

do you think people wear certain things because they think it's cute or cool?

or...

simply because it's a trend. everyone and their dogs are wearing it. and you want to be hip.

p.s

i'm ok with the cute little headbands. the flower should NOT be bigger than your fist.
EVER. i mean... unless you think your baby is hideous and you want the flower to be the focal point then be my guest.

hi, i'm sasha. i'm a junk foodaholic

2010-03-21T21:46:00.009-06:00

*{image from 2006 vegas trip}

some of you may know that i made few resolutions at the beginning of this year.

one of the resolution was to become a complete semi-vegetarian.

it has been 3 months. how am i doing so far?

meh. ok. i'm not going to lie. having in-n-out right down the street is like a recovering alcoholic living next to a bar.

it has been extremely tempting. and yes, i have broke down and went there few times........ past midnight. even worse, i know. what's a girl to do? really. i can't help that my body craves fattening, unhealthy, artery-clogging, heart-stopping, acid-producing but EXTREMELY AMAZING burger.

it's not fair. it's not fair that delicious tasting food is so darn unhealthy.

sometimes, i wish i can go back to japan. just for the food. the food there is healthy and amazingly delicious. how is this possible, you ask? it just is. it's a fact that people in japan live longer than any other people in the world. true story. you should google it.

anyway, this is me declaring my new goal.

i shall call it... "operation skinny bitch"

{if you haven't read skinny bitch yet, i highly recommend it. i read it once couple years ago and couldn't get through the chapter about the slaughterhouse, so i stopped. but i picked it up again couple months ago and re-read it. it's a really motivating.}

it will be interesting to see how long i'll last this time...

just for the record, lehi doesn't approve of this. ha. the man thinks i just need to gain more weight.

now, if only i could get him on board... and possibly have him give me some sort of reward for my efforts... now, that would be a treat. not to mention motivating.

ok, ladies. i'm pumped. well, for now... hopefully this feeling won't fade away too soon.

** this isn't about losing weight. this is about changing my diet. i just want to start eating healthier.

i created a 12 step program.
and i started today.
i'll let you in on more deets soon.

wish me luck!

p.s
i just realized that i'm doing this during easter candy season.
goodbye, cadbury mini eggs.
goodbye, reese's cups.

p.p.s
i give full credit to my friend brina who introduced me to this book.

my new bff

2010-03-18T01:07:00.005-06:00

looky! looky!
my chevron case arrived last friday!
she's beautiful. she's perfection. i couldn't be happier with my decision.
and thanks to all of you who helped me with this decision!
i am a very very happy girl.

oh, and i received a discount card for 20% off.
let me know if you want it. i don't want it to go to waste.

i spent $39.99 plus $8.99 for shipping and handling. which added up to just under $50.
this coupon will save you some moola. holler at me if you want.

alright, bloggies.
i'm off to bed.

oyasumi.

we're baaaaaack.

2010-03-16T12:02:00.007-06:00

yes, we are back from sunny and warm sin city to cold cold p-town.
booooo.

back to reality. don't you hate that? i hate the last days of your vacation.
i don't know about you, but i get my "end-of-the-vacation-blues" it's really awful.
i actually cry. ha. my mama thinks it's funny. i've been that way ever since i was little.
the night before we leave, i'd always open up the curtains in our hotel room and say goodbye to the view. i'm 23. and i still do this. whaaaat?

anyways, going back to our wonderful trip.
it really was a treat. just to be with lehi. i just love him so much.

ha. i could get super cheesy and mushy right now. but i'd rather not, i'll stop.

the drive down there was pleasant as always. i love listening to good tunes and just talking.
did i mention that we have killer taste in music? oh, true story.
we are pretty cocky about our music taste. we think it's the best. no, no, we KNOW that it's the best.

with all the talking and good music selection, we got to sin city fairly quick.
we stayed at the trump towers. and let me just tell you... probably the best hotel in vegas.
yes, wynn and encore are very nice. however, you can't beat the small hotel that has wonderful employees that pays attention to the smallest details. they don't even have guest parking. it's valet only! that's 10 points. no casiono: another 10 points. amazing staff: 20 points for that. AMAZING ROOMS: 100 points for that. in my opinion, it beats wynn and encores deluxe suites. the bathroom was the highlight of our trip. i loved the big soaker jetted tub and the built in tv in the mirror. it made getting ready for the day actually fun.

ok, enough with the reviews. i'll let trump and his people hear that. and my journal. you all don't have to listen to me mumble.

with that being said, let me just say few things;

my point and shoot sucks. must buy a new one. all my images are blurry! grrr.
h&m disappointed me. big time. things online looked better than in store.
j.crew's spring and summer hasn't changed much from the past 2 seasons. kinda sad. but still oh, so fabulous.
trump amazed me.
the restaurant firefly had the best appetizers in town.
the bar/restaurant raku had real japanese food. kobe beef garlic was the highlight of that night.
despite the reviews of le reve, o just might be better. regardless, le reve was pretty magical. lots of dancing. which i like. but i might like acrobats more.
madewell was closed. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE TRIP.
town square mall is my favorite mall in vegas.
if you are driving 87 in a 75 around nephi, utah YOU WILL GET A BIG FAT TICKET.

these are few things that we've discovered on our little vacay.

* see? blurry images! ugh.

*the tv in the mirror. pretty amazing. must have one for our future home.
* this image doesn't do justice. the tub is made for 3-4 people.
* i found indie.
* we found whoopi!

*walks on the strip will cause blisters. and it's not fun.

*serendipity is overrated. i've had better desserts. it was still good though. i really liked the atmosphere. very cute.

* le reve. pretty magical.

* look who was in town at the same time!? we met up with them and went to the show.

* egg & i is always good. but hash house will always beat it.

* off to sin city!

* all packed!

the images are all in reverse. sorry, i'm too lazy.

toms love

2010-03-06T23:31:00.006-07:00

it's so sad that i don't have much to say lately.
as my brilliant solution for the days that i don't have much to say... i will post a picture in stead.
i have to keep this thing going somehow. right?

ok, moving on to the image above.
we love toms. i want this particular one just so i can be matchy-matchy with lehi.
unfortunately, these babies will have to wait until next paycheck.
i've gone a little shopping crazy lately and i have been officially banned from all things internet shopping by the king.
eeeeek. so, spring outfits will have to wait until next paycheck.
pray for me that my sizes will still be available in two weeks from now!

wow. this was a real exciting post. ha.
sorry, guys. i promise i will post juicier stuff in the near future.
i don't want to look back and think to myself that my life was boring. goodness.
lehi and i have to step it up a bit and get creative.
spice up our life. we are so boring, as of late. we just come home and watch movies.
we've been working so much lately that we don't really have the energy to go out when we get home.
well... this will be changing soon.
we will kick up our heels. {he'll kick up his toms} and paint the town red.

the world is our oyster.

nightie-night, bloggies.

and the winner is.......

2010-03-05T13:46:00.006-07:00

"hare" {but i call it the chevron design. }

i know a lot of you have been wondering where you can find these delicious iphone covers.

here is where you can buy it.

i love love love marco cibola and his work.

he is the one who designed the chevron design.

check his work out here.

some of his work has been used on time magazines, nylon, and other big names.

seriously, i cannot wait until this baby is on my iphone.

eeeeek!

happy happy friday to you all!

i'm de-cluttering this week. what are you up to?

Q&A time

2010-03-01T19:46:00.007-07:00

i've been seeing a lot of my fellow bloggers doing this as of late.
and i decided to hop on the bandwagon and register.

i personally think it's a great way to get to know people.

ask me anything in the box below. there's an anonymous option on there for you shy people!

go on. ask away!

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.formspring.me/lalalovebirds"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;http://www.formspring.me/lalalovebirds&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

help. i need your opinion.

2010-02-23T13:07:00.007-07:00

i'm sure by now you all know how indecisive i am. well, if you didn't know that, please note that i'm an extremely indecisive individual. try taking me to basket robbins. we will most likely be there for an hour. true story. anyways, i had my iphone cover ever since 3g came out. {which is forever ago} and i've been wanting to get a new cover for my little baby. and this is where i need yall's help.

option a: it's retro and i love chevron designs. {i'm leaning towards this one.}

option b: i kinda like the whole cutsey vintagy bird design. although, this might be a little kid-ish?

option c: this just might make me feel a little sexier.

option d: part of the money will go towards the haiti relief. can't really say no to a good cause.

which one should i get?

as i type this i'm really leaning towards the chevron design. {option a}

opinions, por fa?

it's laminated

2010-02-19T13:57:00.004-07:00

he is so dandy.
i told lehi that he's on my list.
yup. we totally have "lists".

you know what i'm talkin about?

do you have a list?

you make my dreams

2010-02-15T01:28:00.008-07:00

i'm listening to my favorite movie's soundtrack right now.

you have seen 500 days of summer, right?
i'd say this movie is on my top 10 with zombieland.
oh, another amazing movie. gosh, 2009 was such a good movie year.
wasn't it?
i think it was.

moving on...
today was valentine's day.
a day for lovers.

you have no idea how anti-valentine's day i was.
yes, past tense. everything was changed TODAY.
lehi successfully converted me.

can i show you how!?

call me a kid. but i was extremely giddy all day long.
i felt like a moroccan princess.
seriously though... i think my husband has got some stellar handy man skills.
don't you think?
i'm pretty proud of our love fort.
it's still in our living room.
i'm secretly hoping that we will be able to leave it there forever.
it's just too pretty to take it down!

i'm overwhelmed with love right now.

hope you all had a lovely valentine's day with your lovers!

chocolates, 4 pieces of wood, roses and PS3

2010-02-14T16:31:00.003-07:00

hey, lehi here.

this is my version of our valentine's day.

As I leap out of bed at 4:00 am, I look over my shoulder and make sure Sasha is sleeping. Im always concerned of the little sound the mattress and the rug make when I am getting out of bed, but I was able to manage and head to the living room with ease.

I put on my scarf and hoodie and went out to our storage room where I had hidden 4 pieces of wood, chocolates, and roses.

You re probably wondering, "what in the he@$ is he going to do with 4 pieces of wood on valentine's day? thats a horrible gift."

Sasha has been wanting a fort for a while now, and to be honest, she had mentioned it already for maybe a possible valentine's day surprise. I pretended I didn't hear her that day which lead her to be a little upset for that period of time, but knew I had to find a way to come through for her for Valentine's.

I finally made it up the stairs and thought to myself that I was not going to be able to use a hammer and a nail without waking her up so I went and looked in our tool box/paint box to see if I could find anything useful. Ha! scotch tape!

After finally putting the two pieces of wood in a cross and wrapping them in tons of scotch tape I knew that this project would work.

Now if you must know something terrible about me, this would be it... -

I have no HANDY MAN SKILLS.

I've been starting to pick a few things just from seeing Sasha's dad work around our house, but knew from the get-go that I was going to have tons problems creating this fort.

3 hours later, 2 wins in Fifa 2010 and a dented wall, the fort was created.

As I got into bed I felt good because I had beaten two guys online (Fifa wise) and was done with the fort.

I know that if I had better handy man skills the fort would have most likely been created in less than an hour.

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Lehi

wanna play a game?

2010-02-11T23:34:00.007-07:00

allo lovelies.

my blogging friend stacey did this on her blog and i thought it was a great idea, so i'm copying her.

so, just go with it.

i want you all to answer the following questions in the comment box.
this is just a way for me to get to know you and find more reasons to love you more!

1. Where are you from? Where do you live now?
2. What do you love most about yourself?
3. What are your dreams?
4. What is your favorite thing to do outside of work and blogging?
5. What's your favorite clothing store?
6. What is your favorite thing about the blog world?
7. If you could explain yourself in one sentence, what would it be?

ready. set. GO!

thanks for playing!

me.want.this.

2010-02-10T19:53:00.002-07:00

peek into my brain.

2010-02-09T22:15:00.006-07:00

while at work today, i got a little bored, so i started hunting for fresh and interesting blogs.
while on the hunt, i came across this girl's blog.
and guess what i found!?

a post that was written by me.
well, no, she wrote it. {or copied and paste it most likely.}
but it was a post that i've made over a year ago. ha.

honestly, i don't know if i should be upset or flattered about this.
lehi says that i should be flattered. so, i'll do that.

how would you feel? upset or flattered?
i'd like to know.

but really though...
what a coincidence! i can't believe i actually stumbled across this girl's blog.
weird. i wonder if she "anonymously follows" me.

the blogging world continues to entertain me daily.

{this image has nothing to do with the post, but i just found it on my old laptop today, and it reminded me of the good times my brother and i had back in the day. 2006 to be exact. so, i'm putting it on here for memory's sake. }

hi, it's me.

2010-02-08T00:49:00.010-07:00

i'm alive and well.
thankfully my hero {lehi} has gone to court for me while i was at work the other day and fixed everything!
i know, i really do have an amazing husband, don't i?

anyway, so let me tell you what is was...

it was a fix-it ticket!!

ugh!! evil. evil. evil.

so, a while back, when i was driving my husband's car running errands, i got pulled over and got a fix-it ticket...

and the selfish wife that i am asked my husband to go take care of it, i mean... it was his car after all.
well, the sweet person that he is got the issue fixed and got a signature from an officer and we thought everything was peachy... just until that little mail arrived in the mail.

and BAM. my whole week was ruined until my hero came to the rescue.

anyway, the good news is... we didn't have to pay the"bail amount" which was $97.
my husband can be very charming. and i think he might have used a little bit of his charm with the lady that he spoke to. well, i'm not really happy that he had to use his secret weapon, but whatever, it saved me for going to jail and paying $97. shoot, what can you get with $97?

A LOT OF THINGS

and yes, i'm been very dramatic about this whole "arrest warrant" situation.
i mean, this was the first time that this has happened to me.
so, let me be.

but thank you for all your love.
i felt loved.

and i like feeling loved. who doesn't?
ok, i'm done rambling off.

peace.

en route to tj

2010-02-02T15:25:00.009-07:00

the word has it that i have an arrest warrant out.

dun dun duuuun.

yup. it's true.

call me an outlaw, violator, criminal, or whatever you want.

i'm going to be living the rest of my life as a fugitive.

ok, not really. my body won't be able to tolerate that kind of stress.

just watching prison break gave me an ulcer. goodness.

i will give you more deets soon.

please pray for me that all will go well.

much love,

sasha

finally we meet

2010-01-31T13:50:00.015-07:00

couple weeks ago my besties sarah and will decided to move into our complex.
and today was the moving day.

before i go into any details i need to tell you how the building is laid out.
there are two stair cases on the opposite sides of the building. and the building is 3 stories with 12 units. we live on side B. my besties will be living on side A. which is the side the girl next door lives on.

while i was on the other side of the building moving gazillion boxes going up and down the stairs, i saw a black dodge charger with tinted windows slowly pull up to our parking lot. from the tinted windows i couldn't figure out if it was a girl or guy that was driving the car. but i got a glimpse of pucca shell necklace that was hanging from the rear view mirror. so, i figure it was a girl that was driving the car.

after couple of more runs up and down the stairs with heavy boxes, i saw a girl come out of the car. jet black hair ratted at the top, horrible blotchy tan, fake blue contact lens, juicy's track suit {TOP & BOTTOM}, juicy's pink purse, and a case of diet coke in her hand.

one word: SNOOKI!???

i think i found snooki's doppelganger. the resemblance was uncanny.
so, let me paint you another picture:

scene: sasha and snookie walking towards each other.

sasha: {in my mind} holy crap, it's snookie. i wonder which unit she lives in... ha. watch it be the girl next door.

sasha: smiles and says "hello!"

snooki: stares and ignores.

passes by each other.

sasha: does the turn around-look. and watches her walk up to her door.

snooki: goes into the unit on the third floor.

sasha: holy crap. it's the girl next door. i just saw the girl next door!
i run back round to my side of the building and sprint inside my house and tell lehi about my run in with the girl next door. he thought i was crazy as always. but now i get to put a face on the girl next door.

dear nappy-snooki,

i am not in the least bit upset at you for ignoring me.
i don't judge you for the fact that you are trying to be the next MTV reality show's skanky.
or the fact that when you open your mouth you sound like one of flava flav's girls.
OR the fact that your boyfriend is a loser and your music taste is awful.

i don't judge you. although, from next time... you might want to consider smiling AT LEAST when a person greets you. you know a thing called common courtesy? yeah. you might wanna look it up.

with love,
sasha

{ok, i lied. i was/am PISSED that she straight up ignored me.}

little miracles

2010-01-27T21:48:00.011-07:00

{* my husband is doing something weird in the background. please excuse him.}

{ I }

{ ♥ }

{ YOU }

yes, YOU! you know who you are!
i am so touched by the kindness that i've witness this passed few days.
thank you to all my lovely friends and their friends.

awkward moment deux

2010-01-26T17:14:00.012-07:00

episode: the one with the downstairs neighbor.

occasion & location: driving back home from a store. after the saturday am conference session,

scene: me. driving into our condo's parking lot. i notice my neighbor jogging back to our complex.

sasha: {slowly drives by the neighbor and casually smiles and waves}

neighbor: {smiles and waves back}

sasha: {in my mind} "oh, crap. i need to hurry and park the car and run inside, so i don't have to run into her."

sasha: {parks the car and glances over where the neighbor was running.} {in my mind}"ok, she looks like she's running faster... should i just stay in the car and pretend that i'm on the phone?

ugh. i'm just gonna go in."

right when sasha was walking up the staircase.

neighbor: "hey, sasha!"

sasha: "oh, heeeey! neighbor!"

neighbor: "how are you? i haven't seen you in a while?"

sasha: "oh, i'm well. i've been well. just busy."

neighbor: "how is lehi?"

sasha: "he's well. how is jordan?"

neighbor: pauses.... "jorgen?"

sasha: "oh, gosh. yes! i totally knew that!"

long pause

sasha: {fiddling with keys}

{the neighbor looking at me as if she still wants to converse}

sasha: "so...... the economy is bad....?"

neighbor: pauses "oh, yeah....."

sasha: {panicking} "um.. yeah, i just said that cause.. you know? people getting layed off? yeah.. tough times.... yeah... tough times.."

pause..

sasha: "okay! gotta go! bye."

neighbor: "ok..."

i ran upstairs in to my home and told lehi as soon as i closed the door.

he thinks i don't have people skills anymore. ha.

this maybe true. i mean... how desperate was i to make recession the topic of conversation? couldn't i talked about conference that we just saw that day?

my goodness.

THIS. THIS right here people! this is why i avoid my neighbors!
because i struggle with having a smooth non-awkward conversation!

for the record: i think our neighbors downstairs are the sweetest.

i just don't like socializing with our neighbors.

is that horrible?

isn't this so true?

2010-01-23T23:59:00.001-07:00

PLEASE HELP. HAITI NEEDS YOU.

2010-01-23T14:05:00.008-07:00

the fact that i used caps on my title says a lot.

my friend brittany and grant just decided to go to haiti next week.
talk about a selfless act.

before they go to haiti they are collecting some supplies;

*powdered baby formula

*costco (bulk) advil (ibuprofen)

*costco (bulk) tylenol (acetaminophen)

*children's vitamins

*prenatal vitamins

please. please. please. don't just sit there and wait for others to help.
please put yourself in their situation.
what would you do if you were a little child that just lost your parents in this tragedy and you are suffering from starvation because there is no food. no one to give you food. parent-less. hopeless. just alive.

remember...
"what goes around comes around."

you will be helping heavenly father's children.
please. please. please. help.

if you want to be part of this, please email, text, or call grant or brittany and they will send you their address.
if you feel weird because you don't know them, i'll be more than happy to take any donations for you. lehi and i are about to go to costco to buy some supplies.
if you want to make a make a donation, you can call me or text me at 801-380-4197 they need as much as they can before next thursday.

for those of you who aren't local, you can email a pledge to childrenshope@live.com. they are also accepting checks made out to children's hope.

grant: 916.801.3488

brittany: 801.380.2519

granttany@gmail.com

* i love this picture. it speaks to me. a lot.

a no-no

2010-01-23T02:47:00.005-07:00

*men wearing true religions and ed hardy t-shirts.
this combo is a huge no-no.
{who are you? jon gosselin?}

*girls wearing over-sized flower headbands.
{your head is not for growing flowers.}

*if you are not a nurse, i don't think you can justify wearing crocks.

my list of utahan's fashion trend goes on and on...

no offense utahans!

but it's just all no bueno!!

{in my opinion}

* the flower is big as her face. this isn't right.

like a sailor

2010-01-22T14:47:00.004-07:00

we just posted a post on bijo about striped sailor shirts.

i'm really a sucker for these. especially if they are boatnecks.

i love me some striped boatneck shirts.

miss awkward

2010-01-19T14:47:00.014-07:00

i am the queen of awkwardness.

why? beats me.

i'm just like that and i can't help it.

i'm going to share a moment of awkwardness that i've experienced recently.

i'm going to try my best to paint the picture, so you can all feel like you were present.

i want you to feel awkward with me, will you?

occasion and location: my work department lunch party at los hermanos.

people: about 20 co-workers.

scene: me sitting across from one of the directors waiting for our drinks to come.

{the waiter brings our drinks and straws.}

i quickly grab the last straw on the table and notice that my co-worker who is sitting across didn't get one. so, the kind person that i am offer him mine.

me: here you go, nathan.

nathan: oh, no thanks, i'm fine without a straw.

pause

me: {don't know what to say} oh, but... it stains your teeth.

nathan: huh?

long pause

me: {panicking in my mind. trying to figure out what to say} oh, you know? coke? it has caramel coloring in addition to phosphoric acid. {still freaking out in my little mind. and thinking why i'm still talking.}

the table stays silent

me: and it's just bad for your body. {kicking myself for not being able to keep my trap shut.}

nathan: oh, ok.... {looks at me as if i had a huge bugger hanging on my nose or something.}

nathan: {quickly changes the subject about work, cause we have NOTHING else to talk about} so, how's the japanese market doing?

you can say that i was embarrassed.

maybe even humiliated a little.

i just don't know how to act in front of our executives.

it's mind boggling how they can intimidate me so much.

could it be their suits? their intelligence? their position? their age? or their gender?

maybe it's everything i just said.

yup, i'm pretty sure it is.

i don't think this is going to change anytime soon.

looovely.

do you have weird fears or phobias?

i'm it.

2010-01-18T17:27:00.004-07:00

here are 40 random things about me.

ready... set GO.

1. my middle name is ai. it means love in japanese.
2. i was born in orem, utah.
3. i was raised in japan most of my life.
4. i learned english from watching movies. thanks, hollywood and disney! [mostly from little mermaid and ninja turtles]
5. i'm afraid of [sudden] loud noises. i.e. the sound of balloon popping...etc
6. i can strip and clean an AK-47.
7. i embody every component of being a gemini.
8. i'm always cold.
9. i'm half japanese and the other half is italian-american. {i'm a proud mutt.}
10. i can't drink beverage without a straw.
11. i hate tomatoes and mayo. HATE.
12. i work for nature's sunshine.
13. i have semi-ADD or ADHD.
14. when i was little i wanted to be a designer, doctor, interior designer, crepe making lady.. and 20 other things.
15. i have extremely curly fuzzy hair.
16. i make to-do lists often. i like crossing things off.
17. i flush the toilet while i pee.
18. i like yellow and rose/pink gold more than white.
19. i graduated high school with my associates.
20. i dream in japanese.... sometimes.
21. i'm a semi-vegetarian wanna-be.
22. i think i'm legally blind. {my contacts are -5.00}
23. i love food. [japanese, mexican, indian, and italian]
24. i'm internetaholic.
25. i'm frugal.
26. i dream of becoming shabby as martha stuart.
27. i want 3-4 kids. [i like even numbers, so maybe 4.]
28. i love white kitchen cabinets.
29. i'm anti-pharmaceutical drug. [i like au natural stuff.]
30. i have a dream. i want to save a dog and name him augusto and call him Gus Gus.
31. i collect kitchen items... i.e. le creuset, all-clad, pretty dishes, and silverware.
32. i wear: flower bomb, euphoria, sui dreams, and juicy. [all depending on my mood]
33. my makeup bag consists items from mac, the body shop, and jane iredale.
34. i have one younger brother who is about to go on his mission for our church.
35. i had a beautiful golden retriever named blondie who passed away last year.
36. i usually don't spend more than $20 on a top, unless it's love at first sight.
37. i can't stay in one place for a long period of time.
38. i can eat sushi day and night.
39. i had a near death experience in march, 2001.
40. i go to the lord's university a.k.a byu in provo, utah.

my brain is melting

2010-01-17T14:53:00.005-07:00

one thing about me... i use a lot of kleenex.
i cannot live without kleenex.
my nose is constantly runny.
and i hate it! ok, that's an understatement.
sometimes i wish i could just chop off my nose.
this misery started when i was 13.
i remember as a child my mom had the same problem.
i always thought it was weird that she had to blow her nose so much.
i thought it was a japanese thing. ha.

well, once i hit 13, BAM. i started blowing my nose every 5 seconds.
and it has been 10 years since this misery started.
at times, i get so frustrated that i blow my nose extra hard and hurt my ears.
it's grand, i tell ya.

then.. i go through so many kleenex that when i run out of my stock, i am left with no choice but to blow my nose with toilet paper. we use charmin, so it's not as bad as using a restaurant napkin, but still! it is no kleenex!

because i blow m nose too much, the skin under my nose peels and becomes dry and red.
and when i put lotion on it.. it burns like a mother...

and the worst part? i can't breathe well through my nose because it's always congested.
so, when i'm sleeping i have to breathe through my mouth, thus making me snore...
and to top it off, because utah is so effing dry...
when i wake up in the morning my mouth is dried up!
and i swear my tongue shrinks a bit.
it's really no bueno.

today is one of those days... i am so frustrated with my nose.
i really need to go get this checked out.
ugh... ok. i'm done venting.

i need to count my blessings.

i have a healthy body.
i am happy.
i am happy.
i am happy.

.......

ugh... woooooosah. wooosah. pressure points. pressure points.

a to the z

2010-01-16T16:30:00.004-07:00

i believe in you.
you can do this.

rah rah rah.

2010-01-16T15:09:00.002-07:00

i'm with him 100%.

my happiness project

2010-01-12T14:14:00.007-07:00

this is going to be more like my new years resolution..

but here are the things that i want to do this year.

* becoming a legitimate semi-vegetarian.

* keep working on my 365: picture a day project.

* retake math 110. AND pass it this time. {pretty much this is the only class that is holding me for graduating.}

* drink a lot of water.

* read more books. {books without pictures.}

* cook more. for me and lehi's sake. less eating out.

{i shall saute, stirrer and slaughter my way out of this rut. ok, not so much of the slaughtering part.}

........ and i have about 77 more little personal goals.

wish me luck.

i'm hoping that these goals will bring me more happiness in the year 2010.

what is your goal for 2010?

seventh time around...

2010-01-11T22:40:00.002-07:00

i got bored with my layout again.

so, please excuse the mess.

i promise everything will look pretty once i make my mind up. ha.

we'll see if that will ever happen...

muffin

2010-01-10T23:59:00.005-07:00

{picture's from 2005-2008}

if i were to post all of our pictures, i'm sure blogger's server will go down, so i'm going to stick with these images. i love this girl more than words can say. and that is all.

te amo

2010-01-10T23:40:00.005-07:00

{i'm utterly embarrassed by these pictures of me. i'm putting it on here for memory's sake.}

{fake smile, anyone!?}

{too bad this beautiful dress made me look prego.}

{pictures taken couple years ago. the night he told me two sweet words.}

those words will always be my first. and it will be my last.

i'll love you forever.

yo te amo, mi vida para siempre.

houston, we are private.

2010-01-06T13:49:00.009-07:00

i personally don't like private blogs. soooo... we will just have to see how this goes.

oh, and by the way, did you know that you are only allowed to add up to 100 readers on blogger?

i say it's ridiculous. i'm really considering e-maling the blogger admin and giving them an earful.

can you tell that i'm irritated? oh, and that's not the only thing that is irritating me. i woke up yesterday with a little red dot on my cheek. i don't know what's worse: the pain of that monster or the fact that i am still battling zits in my twenties. i decided the only way to combat this vermin would be to sit in front of the mirror and try to annihilate it-- show them who's boss. well, now my cheek is all red, swollen, and looking worse (and feeling worse) than before. ugh.

oh, and to top it off, i have joker smile. mmhm. yes, i have a cut/slit on the side of my lip. looovely. i didn't know how this happened, so i googled it. and guess what? i might have herpes. wtf? i know. herpes! needless to say, i was terrified about the fact that i may or may not have contracted a form of STD. so, i started researching while i was at work. and i found out that there's a lot of things that could cause your lips to crack and develop sores. herpes is one of them. however, after my long research i also found out that whenever you bite your lip and keep touching that spot with your tongue it makes it a lot worse and causes a blister to form. i think this was my case. although, net MD suggests that i go to a clinic and get tasted for STD, including herpes... just in case!

this is bs. i don't have herpes. i can't have herpes. how, where, what, and HOW could i have contracted herpes!? this is a joke. it's gotta be the dry climate. stupid utah!

ok, i'm done with venting.

oh, and p.s

i got pulled over today. not just by a cop. by two cops. and not just by two cops in a single vehicle. in two vehicles. i wasn't speeding or anything... and i got pulled over. WTF?

i seriously almost got out of the car and booked it. then i most likely would have been on 5 o' clock's news tonight.

you see, i always tell this to lehi and he thinks i'm crazy-paranoid, but i honestly think the entire police force is out to get me. instead having the image of protecting people and making them feel comforted and peaceful they have the complete opposite image [in sasha's mind]. they scare me. i don't have anything on my record, and it's not like i'm hiding something... do you ever get that way? or is lehi right? am i just a crazy paranoid-lady?

the outcome of getting pulled over:

broken tail lights. i got a fix it ticket.

my FIRST. they say that as long as you get it fixed within two weeks, you don't have to pay anything AND you wont' have a warrant out for your arrest.

later on i read the ticket and at the bottom part it said "violator."

i might have felt a bit naughty. maybe...

the end.

confession

2010-01-04T13:10:00.001-07:00

hilarious. and guilty as charged. i need to cut back on social network a bit.

that's one of my goals.

new year. new change. private.

2010-01-03T23:17:00.009-07:00

hope you all had a great weekend.

this is a post to let all of our friends and our friendly blog lurkers know that we are once again going private. yes, again.

we have found out that one of our pictures were taken from our blog and was being used for ads and whatnot... creepy.

lehi and i decided that this is a necessary change.

we just simply no longer feel comfortable putting our lives out on the open public.

-- family and friends,

if you know that i already have your e-mail address, you don't have to leave your e-mail address. but if you think i don't have it, please leave a comment.

-- friendly blog-lurker- friends,

if you read my blog, you probably already know that i'm pretty laid back. if you didn't get that memo, please know that i am laid back. i won't judge you if you follow us anonymously. i most likely follow your blog anonymously, too. isn't that how everyone is? if you would still like to keep reading our blog please leave your e-mail address. this will make us have little sense of security. we would just like to know who our blogging friends are. that is all....

p.s

i understand that once you go private, blogger doesn't show our recent posts on the news feed.

so, we have created a brand new page that is not private... you can follow this page here.

from this page you will know that we have new posts on our main blog.

if we go private and you didn't give me your e-mail address, leave me a comment on here and we will add you the blog. we will be making our blog private in 2 days.

lots and lots of love,

lehi + sasha

dare me.

2009-12-31T01:00:00.006-07:00

this is a story about a girl who went buffalo hunting and ate its liver. RAW.

yes, that would be me.

i just wanted to share this courageous (i was dared) and disgusting story.

i don't know what i was thinking. well, clearly.. i was not thinking.

i was young and stupid. real stupid.

well, here is the proof.

{ i could be a cullen.}

{here goes nothin! papa dave thinking that i'm gonna chicken out!}

{proved him wrong! put me on fear factor, please!!}

{i was fierce}

{bloody. bloody. bloody.}

{all gone!}

{about to throw up.}

{happy camper! im anemic, so the liver actually got me energized.}

facts:

* this took place 3 years ago..

*the late papa dave who basically adopted me has a back yard that's about 30 acres.

* he had 22 buffaloes running around in the back yard, one of which was not a good buffalo... and we had to say bye-bye to him. poor thing.

* i'm japanese. i eat raw food all the time.

* the buffalo had no disease. so, no worries. i didn't contract any weird animal disease.

* it was a bet. papa dave and the boys bet 100 bones. i couldn't possibly say no.

* i wanted to do something spontaneous. now, that i'm looking back on this day, i'd much rather go sky diving. i was insane for doing this.

* i was a vegetarian after that day for about 2 weeks. my first meat was buffalo meatballs. yum.

mini estate sale

2009-12-29T17:52:00.010-07:00

i'm de-cluttering.

i cannot stand having all these things that i don't use around the house!

i posted few things on KSL.

if you know me, i might just give you a generous friend discount.

shameless, i know. i just roll like that.

here are some of the big things i'm selling.

*the one that i have is white*

why am i selling these?

le creuset: i got another one as a gift for christmas. THE SAME ONE.

canon 40D: i want to upgrade to a 5D MKII.

WHITE pottery barn media base: i just don't use it anymore.

so, ladies... if you are interested or... if you know some one that may be interested.

holler at me.

my email: sashaiteno@gmail.com

**update**

i got a lot of emails about the things i'm selling...
here is more info about it.

~~5.5qt le creuset: asking $180, friends $150.~~ SOLD
canon 40D with lense: asking $800, friends $725

white pottery barn cameron media base: asking $150, friends $100

merry christmas, you filthy animal

2009-12-28T14:04:00.005-07:00

and a happy new year.

{caution: this may be a boring post. there are no picture.}

this year we decided to stay in utah for christmas, so we went to my parent's house in orem and hung out there most of the time. we had such a lovely time.

oh, except for christmas eve. my parent's wanted to go to bombay house on christmas eve. yes, on christmas eve. this was the first time that my parents wanted to go eat out on christmas eve. lehi was extremely unhappy with this decision. he definitely loves traditions, turkeys, ham and mashed potatoes. he definitely didn't want samosa, naan, or curry. mmm that actually sounds really good right now. anyway, my parent's wanted to do something different this year. so, when christmas eve came, i called the bombay house to make sure that they were open. ring. ring. ring. nothing. nada. zip. zero. they were closed. needless to say, lehi was jumping up and down for joy. but my parents didn't change their mind on eating out that day... so, i was in charge of finding a restaurant that was open and that wasn't chuck-a-rama. and lo and behold, outback stake house was open. and the best part was.. they had mashed potatoes that made my husband happy! it was done. i made reservations. and went there. everything was delicious. nothing special though. we go eat out all the time and it was a little disappointing that we didn't get that christmassy feeling inside. i mean, yes, they had some christmas music on in the back ground, but still. a little sad.... {but christmas day's japanese-mexican fusion feast definitely made up for it. }

then we headed back home and discussed when we were going to open the presents.
you see, it is my family's tradition and any normal family's tradition, i think, is to open up presents on christmas morning. lehi claims that it's normal to open up presents on christmas eve [midnight] you see, last year we went on a trip, so we ended up opening up our presents early. but since we were going to stay in town this year, i wanted to open presents on christmas morning...the traditional way but lehi disagreed, so we had this little feud over when to open presents. when do you open presents? i totally understand that we are now "adults" and "we know there isn't such thing as santa clause" BUT BUT BUT. ugh... this breaks my heart. i hate hearing my husband tell me that "there is no santa" it sorta upsets me. a lot, actually. well, the conclusion? lehi won. we did it his way this year. we opened the presents on christmas eve. it was weird. this was my first time opening presents other than christmas morning. i really wish this tradition won't stick with my family. or perhaps, i should just get pregnant, so once we have kids we have to open them on christmas morning. am i, right? i'm right, right? well, for the record, he says that we can do it my way next year.... i suppose that's good.

moving on... we were spoiled this year. AGAIN. we are very very fortunate. i mean.. presents aren't everything, but it's nice. i got a lot of kitchen stuff this year. you know you are married when you get kitchen stuff as your christmas gift. we both got pretty much everything that we wanted and more. but next year, we decided to give to people who are in need more than us. so, my friend brittany's family did this awesome service... each couple got $100 in an envelop and they went to wal-mart or somewhere and picked a random family and gave it to them. ok, how sweet is this? i seriously want to make this our family tradition. i love giving.

i'm really excited for next year. speaking of next year, 2010 is right around the corner. i hate the week right after christmas. i get post-christmas-blues-syndrome. is it only me that get this way? i'm pretty blue today. monday + after christmas = no bueno.

well, at least i have this weekend to look forward to. we will be riging in the new years in las vegas. i think this is our 4th or 5th trip down there this year. my friend gets worried because we go there a lot. for all i know, he thinks we are gambling addicts or something. i think it's hilarious.

anyway, looking forward to the new year!

we take christmas VERY seriously

2009-12-22T16:13:00.004-07:00

i will be home for christmas this year. it's been 3 years since i celebrated christmas there. i can hardly wait.

ever since i was little, my parents took christmas very seriously.
they made sure that each year was a special year for all of us.

i just love this time of the year...

one of the reason why....

take a look at the "young christmas village"

this is my mama. she is the master mind of our little christmas village in our house.

can you tell that we love christmas A LOT!?

uhh.... i sorry?

2009-12-20T14:53:00.007-07:00

ok, i have a confession to make.
i wish i was pregnant but i'm not... dun dun duuuun.

i'm sooo sorry!

this was meant for my friend julia!
she tricked me, so this was a way for me to get back at her.

and while seeing all your comments it just made me so guilty about lying.
i didn't think that i would get reactions from you guys so quickly!

would you believe me if i said it was april fools day in japan today?
ok, not really.. but it could be!?

well, let's just say that it is april fools day in japan. and im japanese, so it's ok for me to follow the japanese holidays even from here in the states.

it felt good to be "pregnant" for a day. getting sweet comments, texts and e-mails.
oh, and not to mention my family and lehi's family reads this too.. i probably should have warned them before i pulled this prank off. they weren't very happy to learn my fake pregnancy from this blog.

don't worry familia!
when it happens, you will be getting a call from us!
i promise.

and i promise that this is the first and the LAST time that i would be pulling off a prank like this.
i swear!

the next time will be for real.
and after this fake pregnancy... i hope that's not too far away. [hopefully... unless my doc says other wise.]
i got extremely baby hungry.
i guess this is how i would feel when i do get pregnant.
it was nice to have a little peak of what it would feel like.

and i can't wait.

i can't wait for olivia or noah to come!
yeah. the names... you can make fun of me.
i already have all the names picked out.
they both have significant meaning in our family.
i love carrying on family traditions.

oh, gosh... i need to get a dog to feed my hunger.
no, no, no... i want a baby.

crap.

i'm not like heidi. i can't possibly trick my husband into getting pregnant.

mmmm...... i seriously have some convincing to do. BIG time.

confession #2: i may or may not have painted our office with pretty robbin egg blue. lehi doesn't know this... i did this while he was out of town. i plan on using that room as our baby's room in the near future.

as for the picture below...
that picture is post sasha's belly after eating at the roof.
which made me extremely gassy!!
anyone else out there with a similar experience?

it was my first time at the roof, i think it was nice.
we pretty much paid 90 bones for the view.
the food was mediocre.
i give it a 3.5 overall.
3 for the view and .5 for the food.

regardless, it was a nice evening with the love of my life. :)

announcement

2009-12-20T00:28:00.005-07:00

oh, p.s

happy one year anniversary of looooooove to us!
and happy 100th post!!

a lots of happiness is in the air!

aaaaand merry christmas to YOU! and to all!

negativity is not welcomed here.

2009-12-16T16:20:00.004-07:00

so don't bring it.

hello all...

*this post is intended for YOU heartless-rude-know-it-all-lurkers.
*i love the rest of you..

i understand that i get quite a bit of lurkers here.

which i don't mind at all.

some of you have kindly let me know who you are.

and i very much appreciate the new friendship that we have established.

having said that, there are some that i still don't know.

which is completely fine. we all blog stalk.

i'm glad that whatever i say amuses you folks.

i really appreciate you fine people leaving me comments and love notes, but i do not appreciate and welcome ANY negativity here.

you see, it sorta ruins my chi.

hope you understand.

this is my blog and a place for me to share my love and adventure in life with people that care about me and i care about.

so, let me clarify few things, in case you didn't understand my english.

i can even say it in japanese if you'd like.

失礼なコメントはお断り！！

** i do not welcome unknown rude, thoughtless, and negative comments.**

so, if you don't have anything nice to say, keep it to yourself.

and don't waste your time typing something that will mess up my chi.

with warm regards,

sasha

truth about marriage: part 5.5

2009-12-14T14:17:00.010-07:00

*this post probably makes no sense. i'm just overwhelmed with emotions. i didn't really know what i wanted to say. i just mumbled. it's kinda long. you can read it, but prepare yourself.

it's hard to believe that lehi and i have been married for a year now.

one whole year of looooooooooove.

we have all heard the statement, "the first year is the hardest". can you picture the person who first said that to you?

i honestly can't remember who told me that statement first...

do you remember if they seemed happy about being married or were they proclaiming their happiness through gritted teeth?

i wonder if hearing "the first year is the hardest" really make you want to get married if you are still single? i have witnessed my parents or married friends fighting or complaining about their difficulties of being married.

and i've also have been the recipient of the famous comments, "you just don't know how hard it is" or "the grass is always greener" or "i hope one day you find out how tough it is to be married". i've also been told that i'm too "pie-in-the-sky" or too "romantical" about what marriage really means.

really, this didn't help with my fear of commitment. in fact, it just made it worse. by the time i was old enough to start dating... i was a diagnosed with commitment phobia. while all my girl friends had boyfriends, i had "flings."

did you know that i've never had a boyfriend in my life?
EVER.
i had "flings" here and there... but never a "boyfriend".
i hated titles.
i felt like by adding a title to one another brought more pressure.

well, thank goodness i married my best friend. he has changed a lot of the way i view things.
you see, he comes from a weird family. and when i say weird... i mean. PERFECT family. it's a little creepy. i'm so glad i married into his family. they have taught me so much about how a family should be. how husband and wife should be. how mother and father should be.

he has also taught me that a successful marriage as anything else in this world, begins with a good foundation. you are responsible for creating that foundation. i knew that this was an important process, but it seemed like it was a bit of work, although, when lehi and i are together we can even make work a fun process.

another key ingredient is sense of humor. in the face of the everyday stuff, this has been a great way to keep each other sane from the crazy things in life. it has also allowed us to be make creative solutions to otherwise challenging situations. i've learned how to laugh at myself and to not take life too seriously.

when lehi and i got married, we were very fortunate to have elder christofferson who is a family friend to seal us in the temple. every now and then, i try to look back and remember some of the advises that he gave us. {it's a little challenging to remember because i was bawling like a baby} one of the things that i do remember off the top of my mind is... to make each other's happiness first.

often times, i get too busy thinking about myself. me. me. me. me. but i can honestly say that i have tried. maybe not my best. but i have tried to put forth the effort to make lehi happy. and i know he has put forth more effort to make me happy. little things like cutting his toe nails or putting the towel in the dryer when he is taking a shower, so when he comes out he will have a warm towel to use... i can say that these little thoughts and gestures do make a big difference.

i'm not a perfect wife. in fact, sometimes, i get a little self conscious because i feel like i'm not a great wife. i just have to keep reminding myself that just because i only cook like once every 2 weeks doesn't make me a horrible wife. i do all the other things. and more. the equation isn't good wife = cooking everyday.

i strive to be the best. as long as i'm striving to be the best... i know i'm a good wife.

well, since it's been a whole year this week, i would like to look back and give myself an evaluation.

here are some of the things that lehi and i promised to each other when we got married.

1. do not complain: B-

{lehi and i promised each other that we wouldn't complain about each other to our friends, family, and each other's family about them. i give myself B- in this category.}

2. grow spiritually together: B

{all i can say is... next year we will be stricter with family home evenings, morning prayers, and more frequent temple visits. }

3. communication:

1st qt: C+

2nd qt: B-

3rd qt: A-

4th qt: A.

{i think i've been getting really good at this whole communication business. so, i give my self an A as of now. }

4. love. love. and love: A++++++

{this is an easy one.}

i want to thank lehi for making our first year the best first year ever.

truth about marriage: part 5

2009-12-10T17:56:00.010-07:00

it is a wonderful thing to have your own home with your spouse.

your home should be a calming place. a peaceful place. a tranquil place. a place where you can come home and walk around naked if you want. fyi: i don't do this. remember this story?

to sum it up, your home should be a place full of zen.

well, i'm sure all you apartment renters should know by now that some of the things i said above becomes impossible when you have paper thin walls. ok, paper thin walls + annoying loud neighbors behind the paper thin walls = extremely irritating.

let me share a story with you...

one saturday morning 8:00 am-ish. {we have our headboard right against the sharing wall.}

lehi and i were sound asleep. dreaming about in n out opening, probably...

next thing i know, i was woken up by "i want it that way" by the one and only... back street boys.

REALLY?

first of all, it is saturday for crying out loud.

let me sleep until 10 at least!!

secondly, i am a fool for putting our headboard against the sharing wall. who does that? oh, right.. a person who thought "our room decor would look better that way." i'm an idiot.

thirdly, who gets ready for the day listening to back street boys!? seriously? news flash darling, it is not 1999 anymore.

{clarification}
i send my deepest apologies to you back street boys lovers. i didn't mean to offend you or the multi-grammy nominated pop group.
you see, i have nothing against BSB. in fact, it brings back good memories.

i'm just not a happy camper when my sleeping time gets taken away. yes, i'm one of those... i need my 8 hours of beauty sleep. i think i owe it to my body. {getting up at 5 o'clock everyday to get ready to go to school for 3 years sorta got old. }

i hope you can feel my pain and frustration.

anyhow, let me re-wind the story for a sec. so, i don't know any of the people who live in our building. am i a sad person? maybe. do i care? not the least. although, i do have some sorta idea of some people who live in our building. how do we know this? i dont know. perhaps from the conversation and the daily morning music choices that we can hear from the paper thin walls!

here are few things i know about the girl next door.

1. she has a boyfriend.

2. her relationship with her boyfriend seems to be on the rocks.

3. she's not a molly mormon-ny type of gal.

4. she drops the f-bomb when she gets into fights with her bf early in the morning. {like 3 AM early}

5. her boyfriend is not a bright one. {he thinks he is persuasive, in reality, he's just with a girl who is less intelligent than him, so he can manipulate the conversation.}

6. she's a 90's child.

7. she likes BSB.

8. she seems to be getting converted to rap and hip hop these days.

{i.e} empire state of mind by jay-z and alicia keys.

you know that song? "in new yoooooooooork! " yeah, that one. good song.

isn't it interesting that we know so much about a person we have never even met?

i feel almost guilty knowing so many personal things about the girl next door, but really... that is not my fault. and you know what makes me think? if i know sooo many things about the girl next door, i wonder how many things she knows about us?

yikes. this is almost too embarrassing.

i mean... keep in mind that when the doors are closed. we act like two 3 year olds who likes to play lions and tigers in the safari. really.. i just said that.... for all i know, the girl next door probably thinks we have little kids. {i hope she thinks that we have two little kids.}

we have taken "baby talk" to the next level and we act like animals from africa. too much animal planet perhaps? maybe...

and not to mention, just like any couple lehi and i have our fair share of arguments.

i'm sure the girl next door have heard some of them. and i'm pretty positive that she thought our arguments were stupid. oh, and after the arguments comes the make up sex. but i would like to think that we are very very discreet.

regardless, it's still embarrassing.

although, lehi doesn't seem to care.

my point is.... living in an apartment complex sucks.

i'm sure you all have experienced all sorts of embarrassing and irritating moments in your apartment complex.

care to share?

i'm rather interested.

we are not the only ones right?

i just need some confirmation.

* image via keep calm and carry on