Oh Christmas Tree

Hubby and I went shopping for a "real" Christmas tree this after-Thanksgiving weekend. The last three years, we bought from Don Quijote. This year...I decided to try another place and ended up at Home Depot. I also wanted to avoid crowds since I was still recovering from the previous Black Friday shopping frenzy. Personally, I'd prefer to pick my (our) tree from a tree farm or even better to harvest your own tree as seen in the movie, "Deck the Halls" (minus the crazy neighbors, of course!)

Home Depot had a good selection and within minutes, we picked our tree and loaded it on top of a shopping cart...in line to have the bottom of the tree trunk to be cut off. As excited as I was to finally get a tree, I've been slow to start decorating. Perhaps...tonight, I'll bring out the tree trimmings. So far, I've only put on the twinkling lights and we're both enjoying the wonderfully fragrant fresh pine smell!

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Black Friday

Friday-After-Thanksgiving sales and it's the biggest shopping day of the year. It's a good thing I took that nap...enough to give me the boost to walk around, stand in line to get inside a store, fight the crowds, stand in line again to pay and then carry all that BAGS! I made several stops before heading home but I braved my shopping madness first and mostly at Ala Moana Center since 4am. 

i survived and here's the damage to my bank account ~ Old Navy, Sephora, Victoria's Secret, Express, Aeropostale, Animation Addict, Forever 21, Shirokiya, Sears and Macy's. No shame, a bulk of that bags are for me and not holiday gifts.

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Next year, I'll spend the Friday after Thankgiving sleeping off the unconscionable amount of food I've stuffed myself with the day before...             

 

Sleep sounds good right about now! Oyasuminasai...

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my wonderful husband, terrific family, good friends, my camera and the the start of a great day and holiday season! It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Today and every day I am beyond thankful for everything I have in my life. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Has it been that long since I last posted here?

 

With the year almost winding down to the end...I've gotten to be more lazy. Even the weekends aren't as busy since I'm not out and about at some festival shooting photos with my camera. In fact, I chose to stay home instead of being outdoors with my camera! Even the whole idea of walking more and keeping in shape seem to have been put on hold for some odd reason. Hence, the big and ugly belly, bum and thighs. And with the holiday season fast approaching, I can only imagine it getting BIGGER! :(

 

So I'm starting a new year resolution early. In a couple of days, I'm gonna do the 365 photo challenge. Hah! Bet you thought I was gonna say...EXERCISE more, right? I'll do that after the holidays and won't feel so guilty about eating all that delicious holiday treats. I'll be posting the daily picture both here and flickr.com

I hope I don't give up and in return, it will help me learn a little bit more about photography and my camera. Wish me lots of luck...

 

 

 

Afternoon tea

My BFF and I usually meet up to have dinner whenever we go out. So this time, I decided we neeed a change and enjoy a delightful afternoon of tea drinking, thanks to a fun English tradition. Oh yea...also, I'd won a gift certificate a little while ago at a tweet-up...afternoon tea for two at Mission Houses Museum Cafe and Tea Parlor so I decided to make use of it.

We ordered the Orange Jasmine White tea as well as the Chai tea...and along with that, we also had a soft cranberry scone, a range of finger sandwiches and sweet chocolate/fudge savouries. What a treat! I particularly love their fancy china and their best pot of freshly steeped white tea. 

It was a great experience! :D

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Royal Hawaiian Center R Fashion, Food and Fun Tweetup

Shop, dine and win a great prize are some of the things I did tonight at the #RHCFashion tweet-up organized and hosted by @atmarketing @royalhwnctr

Delicious pupus that I got to eat and really, really like include Okonomiyaki from Chibo's, finger sandwiches and mini panna cotta cups from Panya, crab cakes from Wolfgang's Steakhouse, crab wontons from PF Changs, tuna tataki from Doraku Sushi, summer rolls from Cheesecake Factory and some more! I particularly enjoyed the margarita "buzz" at Koi Boutique on top of all those kawaii Hello Kitty shtuffs...Hope to go back and check out these stores again sometime soon ~ Acid Dolls, Kate Spade, Koi Boutique, 7 For All Mankind and Juicy Couture.

I don't think I've ever tweeted, checked-in into foursquare or posted photos as much as I did tonight!!! Fun, fun and more fun plus I didn't leave empty handed as I won a $50 Doraku Sushi giftcard and also a RHC giftbag (everyone got one). Thank you again, @atmarketing and @royalhwnctr and oh, it was nice to see everyone too...  ^____^  #RHCFashion

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I have a confession...

Okay, maybe this isn't quite a confession or a secret since some of you know I watch k-dramas. I can't quite describe my fascination with it since I'm not Korean so I don't understand what they say (so am very thankful for subtitles) but I serious do enjoy watching it. I've learned to understand simple phrases but wishing I can one day converse fluently in Korean. In fact, I can spend hours not doing anything but watching episode after episode...laughing, crying along with it!!! On top of each story line...I also enjoy the music and will download each track so I can listen to it on repeat until my head hurts :P

My very first k-drama was Beautiful Days with Lee Byung Hun and Choi Ji Woo. I've been hooked ever since!

[update: 11/18/10] I am currently watching Cinderella's Sister and thanks to a friend for introducing and extending a special invite to watch these dramas online at Drama Fever, my addiction has grown even more!

Here's a list of k-dramas that I've already seen (which I can recall and wouldn't mind watching again...or perhaps owing my very own box sets!)

  • A Love to Kill
  • All In
  • Assorted Gems
  • Cain and Abel
  • Coffee Prince
  • All About Eve
  • Autumn Story
  • The Bizzare Bunch
  • Daughter in Law
  • Delicious Proposal
  • East of Eden
  • First Wives Club
  • Fox & Cotton Candy
  • Four Sisters
  • Boys Over Flowers
  • I Really Really Like You
  • My Lovely Sam Soon
  • One Fine Day
  • Stairway to Heaven
  • Soulmate
  • Cinderella Man
  • My Woman
  • Phoenix
  • What Happened in Bali
  • I'm Sorry, I Love You
  • The Infamous Chill Sisters
  • Love Letter
  • My Precious Child
  • One Million Roses
  • Propose
  • Romance
  • Glass Slippers
  • Sad Love Story
  • Shoot for the Stars
  • Since We Met
  • Spring Days
  • Spring Waltz
  • Wonderful Life
  • Tender Hearts
  • Winter Sonata
  • Playful Kiss
  • Pasta
  • Oh! My Lady
  • Personal Taste
  • The Snow Queen
  • Will it snow at Christmas?

Happy Memorial Day

On this day, May 31, we celebrate Memorial Day. It is that time of the year when we give thanks to the people who gave their live in exchange for the freedom of our country.

Each man is a hero and an oracle to somebody - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

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