"Say You'll Share with Me One Love, One Lifetime"

Today, Oliver and I celebrate 10 years of friendship, 8 years of dating and 2 wonderful years of marriage. Happy Anniversary Oli! Thank you for loving me.

:: December 2002 ::

:: October 2008 ::

:: September 2010 ::

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" Then say you'll share with me
one love, one lifetime
let me lead you from your solitude
Say you need me with you here, beside you...
anywhere you go, let me go too
that's all I ask of you.."

- Phantom of the Opera

The Shelter

I, like many others, go through phases where I listen to one CD on repeat for days into weeks..and occasionally months.

This weeks obsession Jars of Clay's new album :: The Shelter

This album is amazing. Not only is the music fantabulous (Yes, I just made up that word.) the lyrics are well written.

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One of my favorite songs on the album is // Out of My Hands
The lyrics of the chorus of this song especially are quite lovely. It expresses the depth of what God did for us. Nothing we did or could do, only what God has done.

And it's out of my hands
It was from the start
In light of what You've done for me
In light of what You've done for me
You lifted my head
Set me apart
In light of what You've done for me
This is what You've done for me
It's out of my hands

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Another favorite is // Shelter
The music and voices in it remind me of a whole chorus of angels singing together. Perhaps a tiny glimpse of what heaven will be like when we stand in front of God and praise him. It's really beautiful.

3 Vacations in 1

It's October 15th. About two weeks since I was on vacation.

My skin has just stopped peeling and I finally have stopped feeling the rocking of the ship. Those two glorious weeks of vacation were wonderful. I did not rest much but being able to take the time away from work proved much needed.

Our schedule was hectic. We basically had 3 vacations one after the other.

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Vacation :: 1 :: Indiana With the Kims (Sept 18th - Sept 22nd)
We went to Indianapolis to visit our friends from high school. Hannah and Ki Young Kim. The moved from LA to Indianapolis earlier this year and we haven't seen them since. Our time consisted of camping, fishing, meeting up with old friends and overall just enjoying each others company.

:: Camping in Indiana ::

:: We did some fishing ::

:: Met up with Oli's old friends from Davao::

:: Hannah Kim, my dearest friend for 10 years + ::
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Vacation :: 2 :: Catalina with Ngaihtes (Sept 23rd - Sept 24th)
Catalina is just off the coast of Long beach. We went to Catalina with my parents and brother for just one night. It was short and but nice. The town is really quaint and has a number of things to do and see. I would love to go back again.

:: Us patiently waiting for our boat ::

:: We rented a Golf Cart to drive around the Island ::

:: Khup, Oli and I went Para-sailing ::

:: My Parents got to go along for the ride ::

:: My family with Catalina's bay behind us ::
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Vacation :: 3 :: Mexican Cruise with Malabuyos (Sept 26th - Oct 3rd)
The much awaited cruise. This cruise was planned for about a year and a half. It was a blast! We had about 25 to 30 of the Malabuyo side of our family on a one week cruise to Mexico. I have to say that I have been officially converted to cruise vacations. It really is the best way to vacation with family. We are definitely doing this again!

:: Our ship, Carnival Splendor ::

:: Dinner was always in the dining room. I miss the Melting Cake ::

:: Some of the cousins took a family portrait ::

:: The whole Gang ::

:: We did an ATV shore excursion in Mazatlan ::

:: There was mini golf on the top deck so we played a round ::

:: The ship had music playing in most of the rooms with areas to dance ::

:: Senor Frogs in Puerta Vallerta ::

Vacation 2010!! Thank you for 2 amazing weeks! Can't wait til Christmas!

The Miyagi in Me

I got a bonsai Tree. A Juniper bonsai tree to be exact.

I came home one day to find a tiny box in front of my apartment. It had a return address for "Lou and Sheryl's Bonsai Garden" and my first thought was "What in the world did I order from them?". After filtering through the million little foam peanut things I found a little bonsai tree nestled in the bottom. It came with a care note from the owners and a description of the tree.

The tree was a gift from Josi. A random gift I must add. It's not my birthday or Christmas and unless we celebrate Columbus day with gift giving there are no other holidays around this time.

//Thanks Josephine Hwang// I love my tree!

Now I need to learn how to care for it. All my bonsai tree knowledge is from Mr. Miyagi in the orginal Karate Kid, which is to prune it every once in a while. Hopefully it does not end up with the same fate as my other plant caring endeavors have.

P.S. I emailed the owners to requests more care instructions. They were very kind and personable. Let me know if any of you are interested in getting a bonsai. I'll send you their information.

Back!

I'm back! Tan and peeling but still alive.

Vacation was awesome, but between Indiana, Catalina and Mexico I have to admit that I'm pretty worn out!

// Will update more soon //