secrete message #1

Dear old man sitting next to me at the coffee shop,

Thanks for your silent company while I am almost falling asleep on my reading.
I just want you to know, your sandwich looks so much more delicious on your plate than when it was in the showcase.

p.s. hope you enjoyed your sandwich!

Best,
HK

surprise!!!

Last Saturday
Hiro and I flew to HK to give my parents a surprise visit

It was the best weekend ever

My parents were so overwhelmed
My mom couldn't fall asleep that night cos she was so excited

I never thought they would be this happy

All my parents needed was just a simple gesture of love and caring
I knew that all along
I love them so very dearly
Yet unexpressed feelings are often hard to be perceived

Memo to myself:
"Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth" 1John 3:18

Time to text my parents!!

So...

Cookies it is!!

Oatmeal Chocolate chips cookies...
recipe from 101 kitchen

Oh... How I love the smell of baking

I am ready for valentine's day!

tWo zEro OnE tHReE

Before I realized
We are in the 2nd month in 2013 already

Life is between
Bed, food, kitchen, snow, school...more food...and FB (sadly?!)

It's about time for a bit of excitement
It's about time to do some baking!!

Muffins? Cookies? Scone? Cake?
Where should I start?

A few of my favorite things ( in the past few months)

1) back to Canada... there's nothing better than seeing old friends
2) seeing Norah Jones live!!!!
3) my best friend's wedding!!! See you in Tanzania soon!!!
4) hanging out with my parents...they are the coolest ever!!
5) spending a relaxing weekend with my hub

On my back

I can't even recall when was the last time I used a backpack

But it's calling me back

I tend to carry A LOT of stuff with me when I go out
My right shoulder is now suffering the consequence

And only recently i realized that backpack is THE remedy to the pain

Feeling HOT HOT HOT!!!

Unfortunately
the heat that I complained on my last post has escalated...

Hiro gave in
A brand new air conditioner is installed in our bedroom since yesterday

I don't particularly fancy artificial coolness
But God bless this new AC
Both of us were able to sleep through the entire night without waking up

it's a blast furnace out there

ok
i might have said this last week
but i am taking it back now

seriously

now it's the only time i will actually appreciated it
if you pour a bucket of ice water on my head

after Day 17

it's pretty obvious that after Day 17

i was way too occupied to blog

and now

i am already into my 3rd month of marriage

between Day 18, wedding and now

it was just filled with craziness, fun, plane rides, presents, blessings and above all

love and laugthers

a low-key simple ceremony at our church

a family wedding in Guam

honeymoon in Italy

moving into our new place

saying thank you

my best friend got married

hiro's best friend got engaged

and MORE!!!!!

it's impossible for me to recap everything

but one thing i know

i am loving every second of this married life
hiro, arigatou

count down: Day Seventeen

pix by jo...while she is not listening at class

another reminders from the wedding prep.

"i am blessed with talented friends"

my friend jo designed the wedding program for me
and when i got the draft
it was just mind blowing

not only it's FABULOUS
it's exactly or more than what i was asking for

jo,
you are awesome!
thank you so much!!!

count donw: Day Sixteen

around 18:00 tonight
text from hiro: 経済部に残った (staying at economics section...no change)

NO WAY!!! was my first reaction
but i guess there is no NO WAY in God

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

now let's get to business
the moving, the wedding prep, i am with you 100%

count down: Day Fifteen

oh no!! you are not bringing me down!!

we have been waiting for his company to annouce the job placement/ transfer since March 29th

we cannot decide where to live until the annoucement is out

to be honest
it has been irritaitng the both of us and put both of us in a bad mood

The lesson of waiting

"Be still and know that I am God"
is seriously very difficult
but i am learning

tonight
hiro texted me...

nope...news is still not out tonight

i am NOT going to let it get me again just like the past 11 days
i am going to wait...happily...patiently
not today?! then maybe tomorrow!! or the day after!!
we will know it when we need to know it

count donw: Day Fourteen

one of my fav things to do...walking (with or without music)

me and him share many things in common
similar sense of humour (definitely on my top list)
similar taste of music
similar sense of movie choice
we usually agree with each other's choice of gifts, arts, food...etc.

we do of course have differences too
i choose the stairs while he prefers the elevator
i am more care-free (careless) while he is more cautious

i really appreciate all the similarities and the differences between
they make me simle
they make me cry
they build me
they frustrate me
but i am ever thankful

count down: Day Thirteen

a day off on a saturday for hiro?!?
wow!! celebration!!!

it may sound ridiculous that i get so excited
off on the weekend is not taken for granted
either getting off work before 11:30pm

lots are waiting for us to learn

count down: Day Twelve

should i cut my budget for a nice cup of latte? i think not.

great! just as i thought i might have a little extra budget
my car needs to be fixed...
everything costs

japan is famous for being pricy and they are correct
wedding costs a fortune no matter where you are i guess
well, it's once a life time
will not be cheap
but will not waste
spend it right
spend it wise

count down: Day Eleven

a little treat

a little get away

i needed it

but i think hiro needs it more than i do

hiukei, take a deep breath

HE is in control

HE has the master plan

my heavenly Father knows what HE is doing

sidenote:

too bad my honeymoon doesn't involve stopping by France for some delicious sweets

but i am pretty sure Italy won't disappoint me

count donw: Day Ten

wedding gift

お祝い in japanese "oiwai", literal meaning: celebrate, congratulate

wedding reminds me
how blessed and how fortunate i am
to have so many relatives and friends who love and care for me

thank you very much
ありがとうございました。

count down: Day Nine

i cheated
i got lazy
blogging on Day 10 about Day 9

well, don't we all have our lazy day once in a while (or twice? thrice?)?
mine was yesterday

had a slow and relaxing morning
spoiled myself at ★bucks with a nice cup of soy chai tea latte
the idea was to read at least one journal article
but i ended up with a novel in my hand

after the chai
i just strolled around shops
and went to the gym later in the evening

at night, i had a nice long chat with my former supervisor who is more like my mom in japan now

i wonder if i still get to be so care-free after i get married
maybe i will need to be home by a certain hour
maybe i will need to restrain myself from spontaneous activities
maybe i will need to....
hmm....

instead of of making a list
i am just going to enjoy my single life to its fullness
only 22 days left!!!

count down: Day Eight

today is my beauty day

being a bride to be is not easy
well, i guess it all depends on you
you can make it extremely complicated and difficult
or you can make it easy and care-free

i am definitely in the later group
i try my best to minimize things
don't want to create more works for myself...

but i am definitely not giving up the chance for bridal facial/spa
it is a bit costly
but which girl would want to give up the chance to relax and to be pretty?!?
and which girl doesn't want to look the best at her own wedding?

a good 90 mins of quality relaxation (thank you T!! you are amazing!)
i definitely felt a bit guilty that hiro is running around at work while i was laying on the bed getting a massage
maybe i should ask if they have a groom version of it too

count down: Day Seven

the place where all the magic of "hmmmmmm...." happens

sunday
i love sundays
not only it's the day of worship
not only it's weekend
not only it's a dayoff
it's a day that i can spend some quality time with hiro

we had lunch at our faovirte italian restaurant
the pasta is so delicious that we are usually speechless
or you can just hear a coversation like this once the pasta is here

"hmmmmmmm...."
"hmmmmmmmm""
".....oishiiiiiiiiiii....."
".................umai!"
"........................"
"........................"

the chef is super friendly which makes it even better

today
he gave us a list of suggestions of where to visit when we go to Italy for our honeymoon

yes...
Italy it is!!
wine, cheese, pizza, pasta, gelato, the list just keeps going!!
tummy,
get ready for some delicious treats!