Scrappin' and loungin'

Ahh yes today is Friday, the night is young, the air is cool and perfect snuggle weather.  After dinner, Vien and I glanced over at each other, by the look in our eyes we knew we wanted to stay in tonight.  We figured we'd spend some 'us' time, quality lounge around the house time, a movie or two tonight and maybe scrapbook somethin'.  When we scrap, typically we do a page each of a particular weekend or holiday.  For example, in a typical 12x12 album, I would design the left page and Vien would design the right page.  By doing it this way, we showcase how we envisioned the weekend or that particular holiday by how we decorate it or by which pictures we choose to print and use.  The last time I remember scrapbooking was back in May 2010 when we went to Santa Barbara for our first time, to see 30 seconds to Mars concert @ the Bowl.  Yeah ages ago!

But now with all our wedding planning behind us, we now finally have the time to do what we want to do and be able to plan a whole weekends dedicated to us.  And now normal everyday life sets in, but only difference now is we are officially a married couple!  Just the ring to it, still gives me chills and I still can't believe that we made it.  In a good way of course!  But I know, we will continue to do the same things we normally would do, such as hanging out with  with family and friends, looking for new places to visit, taking hundreds of pictures, and our favorite past time, dining at new restaurants on Sunday mornings.  It's now been 4 weeks since we've been married and so far its been a blessing.  I look forward to our new family, and where the future may take us.  As a reference to Maui, on the Road to Hana, we had a saying...'its not about just finishing your journey, but its about all the stops along the way, enjoying each and every milestone along the way towards the finish... is what the journey is truly all about'

Hello November...!

Pulling down the fake spider webs, throwing out the semi wilted pumpkins from the night before... We say good by to the month of October.  Halloween has just ended, we fold away our costumes that we plan to never use again, but what does remain are all the candies and chocolates afterwards.  Some of us, like myself continue to bring the left over sweets to work, snack throughout the day and just figure, hey might as well, it's there!

But now rolls in my favorite time of the year, Fall!  The weather is consistently cool, the trees transform into a nice shade of orange and red, the rain sprinkles in from time to time, my birthday is this month, and of course the intimate Thanksgiving dinner with my family.  The leftover food is another great thing about it!  You can have yourself some ham, turkey, stuffing, mash potato and gravy and the list goes on. But other than just the food...to me, Thanksgiving is about spending quality time with my family, talking stories, poking fun, making jokes, and the joy to watch everyone having the time of their lives, being with one another makes it all worth it.

Kung Pao and Brocolli cheddar rice

Tonight, I decided to prep dinner before Vien came home... I tore open a bag of Broccoli Cheddar rice, cooked it in boiling pot of water and added a tbsp of butter.  To compliment the rice I warmed up some leftover Kung Pao chicken we had ate from the night before.  Vien warmed up some spinach artichoke dip for our side item.  

1 bag of broccoli rice

2 cups of boiling water

1 tbsp of butter (optional)

Simmer for 7 minutes 

2  minutes to cool then serve  

The finished product of our dinner for Wednesday night.  Vien said it tasted like a soft macaroni rice but she enjoyed it!  This also marks my first blog about food so stay tuned for what I have in store next time.  Enjoy your dinner as Vien and I have and have a good night.

Trick or Treat?....

...If you want my answer to my title, hands down, the treat!!!  Euphoria travels from my taste buds to my brain... There is no other sensation that one can compare, to the way that candy makes me feel.  An addictive, yet bad habit to have as a kid, yet rewarding when taken in moderation!  Oh yeah, before I forget, Happy Halloween!  A spooky holiday that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults.  We love candy too... and we would gladly join in the festivities of walking door to door and collecting candy.  As a family tradition, well something we started maybe 2 years ago in 2009... We plan a Halloween party in conjunction with my sister n law michelle's birthday.  We choose a place to have it, typically my parents house in Corona then we all come dressed up, but the fun part of it all, is that we don't know what anybody is wearing till we show up!  Laughs are shared, compliments are given, costume roles are played out, and tons and tons of picture taking.

Since Halloween fell on a Monday this year, tonight my wife and I just plan to hand out candy, check out the cute costumes of all the kids in the neighborhood, and watch scary movies while we hang out by the front door.  Can't wait till Vien comes home, so we can light up the very scary pumpkins we carved last night ;) and listen to the kids ooh and ahh at it as they approach the front door.  Okay, only a few hours now till the sun sets and the kids start rolling out.  Happy Halloween from our family to yours, and have a safe night!

2 Months Flash Forward

I really do need a daily alarm to notify me that it's time to blog!  But here is a quick overview of 2 months that needs documenting...

-Booked videographer for wedding (Mission Visual)
-Received my Spotify invite
-Carbon Canyon park with my Fiancee and sister Hoang
-Orange County fair to watch Neon Trees
-Did our gift registry at Williams Sonoma
-Huntington Beach Bonfire day with family
-Food tasting at the Villa our venue
-Took Fiancee to Pieology for the first time
-Picked up the 23 bottles of Hennesy for the wedding
-Read 'Sh*t My Dad Says"
-Mailed out all 160 invitations
-Had groomsmen tux fitting at Men's Wearhouse
-Laguna beach day with Fiancee, ate at Zinc and Casey's Cupcakes
-Replaced ink in Epson printer from printing invitations
-Been receiving RSVPs all of August
-Pechanga with family for Russell peters Green Card Tour
-Took Fiancee to 5 Guys Burgers for first time
-Had our Engagement shoots at UCLA
-Got my first fitted suit with Mom and Dad in Garden Grove (Viens Parents)
-Had Vien's vietnamese dress fitting
-Few Kogi food truck runs in Pomona with Fiancee
-Hung out with old High School Friend Tommy and ate kbbq
-Visited Photographer Mikal Lok to check out new designs for wedding book
-Trip to Stockton with family for Valerie & Ky's wedding
-Downloaded Plant's vs Zombies on Fiancee's iPod
-Bought a Juiceman and started juicing because of documentary fat sick and nearly dead
-Vegas trip with the boy's for my bachelor's party
-DMV for my license renewal
-Ate at Freebirds for the first time
-Took Fiancee to CPK for our usual pizza and lettuce wraps

And that about wraps up my time away from the blog.  Hope you enjoyed the flash forward to today.

~Signing off.... Jay

-warrior mode-

Less than 3 months to go and it's time to turn it up a few notches... Time to get suited up and rock this joint!

- time left in this world -

Be thankful for the life you have, no matter good or bad... it can easily be all yours, but can also be easily taken away from you.  Tread carefully, and love those who mean something to you.

Do everything you can, make memories of everything you do, document life's greatest moments.  Ironic that I can't even maintain this blog but I constantly do remind myself that life needs to be recorded because all we keep is the memory of the things you've done...

CHEERS to life!