24 Hour Fitness.

I am so sore. Sore. Sore. Sore. Yes...I am sore. I haven't done something like this in a long time. Yes, I do go swimming a lot...but for some reason, I'm not that sore after swimming for 2-3 hours straight. I don't know why...I know I have gotten used to it because at first my arms would hurt like a mofo...but now, it's nothing but gliding through the water...well, I take that back it is like gliding through the water until the waves and rain come...and most especially when you are stuck in a current and all your arm strokes are feeling like they are not taking you anywhere.

http://www.insidesocal.com/bargain/24hourFitness.jpg

But I did it...finally...after saying that I would be doing it for so long...my friend, Tiare, and I finally went and signed me up for 24 Hour Fitness in Kaneohe today after work. She has been a member for a while, but she wanted someone to go with...so she has been trying to get me to join...and I did want to...but always all these excuses kept coming up...but nope, not today, I told her this morning, T, i'm going no matter what and I did. And boy is my body tired. I'm not sleepy...and yes, my body is sore...but you know now that I think about it, it's not really sore...more like exhausted.

http://www.thepac.com/piclib/128.jpg

I took two classes back to back...the first one was Turbo Kick...and that one kicked my ass! It was intense...constant jabbing, kicking, moving...and I was sweating like who knows what in the first ten minutes! And get this this HOT GUY was standing right next to me! Say what!? I was like...why?! why?! why?! *laughs* Coz I was standing in the back...and he looked like he knew what he was doing...and so why stand in the back?! But he was really helpful...he knew the routine and I talked to him before we started and told him that this was my first time...and so he would say out-loud what would happen next. He was nice..everyone was nice. But it sure was exhausting no doubt!

Right after that I did Zumba...the hottie stayed for this one too [the teacher for my turbo kick is his friend, and the teacher for my zumba class was the turbo kick teacher's friend...and zumba teacher challenged turbo kick teacher to stay and turbo kick teacher challenged hottie to stay...get it?! *laughs*] I thought I would be so lost...I actually moved up with my friend near the front. It wasn't as intense as turbo kick but just as fun...literally I felt like dancing...and I do love to dance. *laughs*

http://coachlana.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/zumba_dance.jpg

T and I went upstairs afterwards to lift weights some...and oh my goodness...oh okay...going to the beach here, you will see hot guys...and going to the gym...also major hot guy hang out! *laughs* Talk about being self-conscious! But they were nice...at least the ones that I talked too...but wow...they had NICE NICE NICE bodies...and I was like...no! Don't look at me! *laughs*

Well, I really want to go take a shower now...my brother just got out and I want to run in there to wash and yeah...but yes!! I did it! I am now an official member of 24 Hour Fitness...lets see where all this goes! :)

"Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental state."-Carol Welch

Senses: Memories.

http://www.betadaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/

I am a firm believer that your senses hold memories. Smelling a scent an trigger long ago memories of a family dinners and yearly camping  trips. Seeing your childhood home brings forth memories of playing with the neighborhood children, waiting for the ice-cream truck to roll on by. Hearing an old song on the radio evokes memories of a long lost heartbreak. Feeling a certain thing in the air brings feelings of nostalgia of hot summer days lazing at the beach or running through the sprinklers.

http://www.evernewrecipes.com/wp-content/uploads

I had homemade pizza bread, blackberries and watermelon these past few days and forgotten memories of long ago came rushing back. Pizza bread has always been one of my favorite childhood foods. Whenever I would have friends over or even when I would have a lazy family day somehow pizza break would be involved. A few days ago when I made myself a pizza bread with french bread, pizza sauce and cheese, I remember my mom in the kitchen making pizza bread for us children. She would always make some Filipino dish for the adults, us children wouldn't touch it because it had the "yucky" vegetables in it, so pizza bread it was. What I wouldn't give to see my mom in the kitchen making pizza bread right now. I miss her so much.

http://www.autumnacres.biz/web_images/blackberries430x300.jpg

Yesterday, I got home super hungry so I opened the refrigerator to see what I could eat and there was a fruit basket full of fresh blackberries. Being a berry-lover, I dumped some in a bowl and washed it for my after work snack. As I bit into the first one, I was mentally and emotionally transported back to my family's yearly camping trip to Redwood Camp Meeting in California. There would be bushes full of ripe berries...and my dad and I would go and pick some every day so that we can bring them back to camp and eat them. They were so fresh and so juice...I miss those times. We would go to these camp meetings and the whole camp ground was our playground. The friends that I made there, the fun that I had there, the memories that I have them still bring a smile to my face when I think about the times there.

http://cdn1.newsone.com/files/2010/07/watermelon.jpg

My sister was craving watermelon the other day and she had bought one and it was there, sitting in our refrigerator taking up all the space. It was funny coz she asked me, do you want some?! I said, no...I wasn't really feeling it...but when she cut it...I cut myself a little sliver...and *laughs* I was like...YUMMY!!! OMG!!! THIS IS SOOOO YUMMY! I ended up eating two fat slices of it. I remember clearly the first time my dad let me carry the watermelon in the house. This was at my childhood house...and I had really wanted to carry it...so my dad helped me pick it up from the back of the car...and I was barely ten feet away when I dropped it...*laughs* I was so sad that my dad brought me back to Food 4 Less and we picked out another one...and this time I rolled it into the house. *laughs* Oh, I miss my daddy. So much...I miss him.

Yeah...memories. I think they are the best souvenirs of life. Something you'll [hopefully] always have.

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."-From the television show The Wonder Years

Wedding Ideas.

I love looking up wedding stuff. Inspiration...for my future wedding and for ideas for when I work on a wedding. Working in the wedding industry designing weddings is so much fun...you get to use your creative juices and you get to help a brides "dream come true." Anyways, here are some inspiration pictures that I found...mainly things I would think about in my future wedding. *laughs* But who knows...when the time comes I might change my mind again. *laughs*...but I do like these ideas.

http://christielim.tumblr.com/

 I would LOVE to have a candy tree like this! If not for the wedding reception then for the engagement party or bridal shower or something. I do have a sweet tooth and I'm a sucker for sweets...and I love how it kind of is child-like. Looking at it, it looks time-consuming to make...but I think that it would be fun...and it would make a neat centerpiece if not a favor tree...or something to be near the guest table signbook thingy. *laughs*

http://beleza.ca/?p=3695

Pink roses are definitely a must at my wedding. Yes they are. I love pink roses...it is one of my top favorite flowers...I know that these are aren't garden roses...but I would love to have pink garden roses in my wedding as well a pink/white spray roses...but yes, roses and pink is a definite for me.

http://tuesdayaffairs.tumblr.com/post/3647433784/pulmonaire-by-brad-shapiro

 http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard

I love shiny and things that catch the light...so crystal is a go for me. I think that it would catch the light nicely whether it was in broad daylight of by candle light for a evening wedding.

 http://pureluxury.tumblr.com/page/6

I did a wedding similar to this layout...but not quite...but I do love the shells in the vase. I love shells and I think this is a pretty way to have the shells without it being a too beachy themed wedding. I also do like the floating candle with the orchid in it. My sister had that at her wedding but with a darker orchid I think. But yes, I like this idea.

http://beleza.ca/?p=42

Disco balls! I love!! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE these pink disco balls! I love how disco balls catch the light and throw out shiny on the walls...it's beautiful! In fact I have a few disco balls up in my room right now...*laughs* I would love some of these at my wedding reception...

http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/category/pastry-images/children-cakes

Since I love children, I would have [in my dream wedding] a children corner for them and I would have a fun cake like this for them to enjoy. :)

 http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard

Anyone who really knows me, knows that I love Mint Chocolate anything! OoooHHhHh...it's my favorite like whoa! *laughs* So, this would be somewhere up in there in my wedding.

 http://debutantes.tumblr.com/

I think that chinese lanterns/ball thingys are nice...It adds a different kind of "texture" to the atmosphere...it would be a pain to put up and stuff...but it's cute idea non-the-less.

http://lovely-little-things.blogspot.com/

I think that these would be simple to make and it looks really nice...especially for an outside wedding/reception.

http://weddingchicks.com/wedding-chicks/featured-weddings-events/12171/we-are-in-love-with-elizabeth-messina/

No matter what color you would want this in...I think that this is beautiful!! Wow, this is beautiful! :)

http://justessential.tumblr.com/

Easy enough to do...and cute...especially for picture like this. :)

Well, that is it for now...but for sure...that these wedding inspirational are not over! :)

Mother's Day Sabbath.

So yesterday was a pretty cool day. It was Mother's Day Sabbath, and yes, I teared because I don't have my mommy with me. I miss her so much, but I admire her because she did give up EVERYTHING to become a medical missionary in the Philippines. I thought that would only happen in these Adventist Magazines that they publish monthly, not to my parents...but yeah, they left and oh goodness, I miss them something awful.

Sometimes it makes me feel bitter that I don't have my parents to call on...literally since I have no way to communicate with them. It's the worst feeling, but when I think about what they have to sacrifice everyday, I am just plain proud of them, with no bitterness attached. But yeah, for Mother's Day, I am sad since I can't spend it with my mommy...but that didn't stop me from staying up late making flower bouquets for [most] all the mother's at the Waimanalo SDA church! And waking up early to dress them and help my sister make cookies for them.

I knocked out afterwards though and I get waked up by my sister telling me to get ready...we're going to eat lunch at Shabu Shabu in Honolulu! I love that place. It was the first place that we ate out with our friends Tracy and Kaleo...and it's so yummy. I would link it, but there are a lot of Shabu Shabu houses here in Hawaii...basically what it is is, you buy the broth...different kinds of broths...and then there is a refrigerator with a lot of different meats and vegetables and noodles and stuff and while the broth is cooking in front of you, you add the other stuff that you want to add. It seriously the broth that makes it. So yummy! I love it.

http://www.fitceleb.com/files/thor1.jpg

After that we went to Tracy and Kaleo's house and chilled there and tried to figure out what movie we wanted to see. Either Thor or Fast and Furious 5. We ended up watching Thor, and yes I did like it. He is so hot! *laughs* My brother who is so technical when it comes to movie was telling me that that was not how it happened, but I don't care. I liked it. Would I see it again?! Yeah, I would...but if I didn't, I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again. I know that I'll eventually see Fast 5 sometime...maybe when it comes out.

I love spending time with friends. I love the friends that I have made here. I really do. I love it here...and yeah, I like it here. *laughs*

"Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things."-Author Unknown

Friday.

Last week SOOO long and so tiring. I don't know...for some reason, I just felt tired all week long. No, I didn't sleep late...and I didn't have to work late either. But when Friday rolled around, boy was I glad. I could finally have MY weekend to relax and just catch up on...what?! I don't know...sleep?! But I was sleeping good at night...maybe I just needed a relaxed moment to catch up from all the "hectic life" *laughs*

I was so happy that I didn't have to work late last Friday. I went home and flopped on my bed and was knocked out when my brother wakes me up..."Ate Faith needs help bringing things up"...and so I get my ass up and help her...the first thing I noticed was flowers. A lot of flowers. I love flowers...and wow, there were a lot of flowers.

So, Friday nights are family nights and we go spend it at our Ohana's house. I love this family. They took us in and call us family since we don't really have family here in Hawaii...but we do now. We usually go there at 6:30pm or so and stay there until late just talking and catching up on our week and sharing. I love them. And they are my family. But when my sister asked me, "Che, can you make at least 15 flower bouquets for mother's day?!" I was rethinking whether or not I should go to family night. I knew the flowers would take at least two hours to process...and then FIFTEEN!! flower bouquets! [Or, as many as I can make with all the flowers.]...My goodness, I know that there were weddings where I had to stay up until 2 in the morning and I only had to make like 5 bouquets...well, plus other floral arrangements and decorations...but I had help! I work in a team!

But oh okay...Mother's day. Fine, I'll do it. I did end up going to Family Night though...and we did stay there until like 10:pm-ishy...and I did stay up until 3:am making 17 flower bouquets. I was too tired to ribbon them though, like serious, I was going crossed-eyed and I was hoping that they were turning out okay. I made them all unique...all different from each other.  I ended up waking up 3 hours later [that would be 6:am] to do the ribbons on each bouquet and help my sister make Mother's Day sugar cookies.

I didn't go to church with them, but as I was going to drag my body exhausted body to bed, I looked at the mountain of dishes that I had to do...and I couldn't just leave it. So I did the dishes and knocked out right after.

To all the mother's out there, I appreciate you. To my mommy: I love you and miss you with everything that I am. I can't wait to see you again...and I love you. *hugs*

An older pic of my mom and I...I sure do miss her lots.

"God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers."-Jewish Proverb

Happy Mother's Day.

I saw this and I was laughing so hard. I thought it was funny. Mommy, Happy Mother's Day. I love you. *hugs*

Don't Hold Your Breath.

Don't Hold Your Breath- Nicole Scherzinger