A year late...

I'm pretty sure that I did not share this last year. My photos were in my catalog and not edited at all so here goes. 

Probably about every other year, my friends and I go to Tip-A-King which benefits the LA Kings Care foundation. This time Julie and I decide to go. I believe that there was an early afternoon game and the Tip-A-King event was scheduled for later. Julie and I had some food and spent a long time in line just to get into the event. From there, you have to decide what players you want to tip ($5-10 range) and you can get their autograph/picture and/or play a game with them.

It's really fun because the players are always super nice and friendly. Since this was from more than a year ago, I don't remember all the details. I managed to get signatures on my Kings flag and a couple of photos. Depending on the player, it was either/or an autograph/photo. The superstar players had some really really long lines and time was limited so I had to decide who I wanted. I did want Alec Martinez but his line was ridiculously long. Julie and I  had to split up to get the players we wanted and then had to hurry to get Kings Mystery bag before they ran out of those.

I scored and got a mini Stanley Cup banner that was signed by all the players!! I was so happy. I'm at mid-project getting that banner framed. :)













I'm passing up this years Tip-A King but it is a super fun event. 

Carnival cruise

I am really really behind but I am making attempts to catch up. 

This is a cruise that the kids and I took in October since our summer was spent taking care of my mother. She had a couple of unexpected stays in the hospital and the rest of the summer was helping her recuperate and caring for her.

I was able to take advantage of the kids student free day in October and booked a 3 day cruise to Ensenada. It worked out very well since it wasn't a busy cruising period. The kids got to relax and explore the ship while learning the joys of eating steak. It was here where the kids could order a steak and try different cuts of meat that normally they wouldn't have tried in a restaurant.

We didn't get off the ship at all during the weekend. I got plenty of sleep. We went to a Hasbro show on the ship where the Hasbro games are played on stage. Tyler was selected to participate which he had lots of fun.











The kids had lots of choices to play mini-golf and even go on some big water slides at the back on the ship.







I could always find nice quiet spaces while most people spent their time by the pool or sunbathing.









It looks like we have the ship to ourselves! The casino was a very popular choice for the adults.










I really want to do an Alaska cruise with the kids next. That will be lots of fun and more time to relax while seeing a new place with glaciers. :)

Howling at the Moon

The last supermoon of 2015 and it wasn't at some horrible late night time. It was a tad inconvenient since I was eating dinner and roasting another tri-tip for later this week. I admit I was too ambitious in my timing but oh well. Hector told me he could see the moon really well at the park about 2 blocks away so I shut the oven off and had the kids carry my tripod to the park. This was around 7pm.

It took a little bit for my eyes to adjust and actually see the moon which was eclipsed and very difficult to see with some the hazy clouds. We walked around some more and found a decent spot to set up.

The kids were helpful in setting up the tripod and using their phones to light up my camera to adjust settings.

I had to tweak my pictures in LR3 and crop but you can see the red color and eclipse although it's grainy.






Later that night around 11:30pm  I went back outside to look at the moon and it was perfectly visible from our driveway so I brought the tripod back out for the supermoon shot.

Nail Art Roundup

I gave my nails a break after my nails were stained by some green polish. They were also too long and splitting so a week of rest and freshly trimmed have helped tremendously.




It was this design that the green polish did a number on my nails. I'm still not the greatest at nail art but I have noticed a big improvement from when I first started so that's fine with me. There are so many videos on Youtube of easy nail art for beginners and it can snowball quickly. I have more fun trying and sometimes it's a total disaster. I just remove it and do something else.

My left hand usually has the better nail art because I'm right handed. Practice is key. Lately, I'll do a completely different design on my right hand just to practice and see how it looks. Even if my right hand looks a tad wonky, people still tend to give compliments because they can't see the details where I messed up and usually a distance like 2-3 feet. 

So if you're interested, there are videos and tutorials on using household items as nail tools so it doesn't have to be expensive and wasteful.Have fun with it.




These nails were supposed to look like opals. I didn't have all the right colors so mine came out more like granite which I still love. 










I noticed that simple designs suit my nail better since I have short nails but that shouldn't limit you.




Here is my right hand for a change. Crackle or Shatter nail polish goes on like regular polish then as it dries, it cracks showing the base color. Like I said before, it looks messy up close but I got lots of compliments on this one too.

That's it for now. Nail art is something that I can do for fun and let's me carve out some personal time for myself. 

June Favorites

July is already flying by and I've been meaning to post a blog of June faves so let's get going!

1) My lovely ocean sunset painting...



My friend is an artist and I've started my own personal collection. This is the 2nd piece I've acquired from Kathy Johnson Studio. She is down in the San Diego area and I'm in love with all her pieces. So the most difficult part is deciding but the art usually speaks to me so I have to hurry and get it. :)

Moody Sunset hangs in my kitchen so I get to see it often....


2) Nail art.

I still enjoy doing my nails although I need some serious cuticle moisturizer. This is my favorite nail art pattern. It's simple and I got a ton of compliments.



3) Dancing with Hector.

He keeps my spirits up and I have a keeper in that he loves to dance. He would convince me to go even if I didn't feel like dancing and has no problem dancing by himself. I've heard from several women that sounded envious that my hubby loves to shake his groove thang and I know that it isn't the most common trait but it's one of my ALL- TIME favorite things. It helps that he has rhythm and moves too.







Thanks honey!

Filler

I know I've been absent lately. Lots of family stuff is going on that I'm dealing with and I'm extremely grateful to H for being my rock and keeping me sane.

Here are some things that help me focus and recharge.




Some nail art that is quite messy/sloppy up close but I got compliments on it so I'll take it. Even though I applied a base coat, my nails got stained the lovely green color. I did a little break from them to give my nails a break but should have some more to show next week.




I did a sock yarn swap with the Monstersock group on Ravelry and this is my package that arrived. I'm already in the midst of knitting these and throwing in a few more bright colors.

Like I said above, Hector really makes me happy even when I'm grumpy and blech. We go dancing although sometimes I just watch him dance. Our local watering hole is convenient place to dance and the lights were fun so I enjoyed taking pics of Hector shaking his groove thang.






I knit a baby sweater and Hungry Caterpillar for my cousin Grace who is expecting a baby boy in September. I'm excited for them and expect more knit items in the future.





The kids and I have been looking forward to the Anime Expo convention since April and I got even more excited when Josh said he wanted to wear his Link costume. It still fits but he outgrew his shoe covers, so Hector to the rescue...He managed to find the perfect sized Uggs at the first thrift store for $8. My hubby is the best!









Here is Josh in action...he really loves this and even wore a long sleeved shirt in July. That's dedication.



The expo was a blast like usual. I saw these hats a lot and liked it even though I didn't find out what it was from till later. League of Legends which looks like a fun game but it's PC and honestly I don't have time for all that. Our waitress at The Yardhouse complimented me on the hat since she knows/plays the game so I got some info from her. This year the kids really thought about what to buy in their budget which made me proud. Josh got that Pika-Boo shirt he's wearing and Tyler bought an adorable book called Stupid Fox and some prints for his room. :)

Like I said again and again, Hector really looks out for me. He took me for a walk to show me something nearby. Right in front of the Chinese restaurant is this awesome curb marker...





It's on a busy street so I would never see it driving by but H happened to see it while running and had to show me. :)

And to finish this very long post, I will end it with this photo from our Korean market that has the most interesting products. It's very amusing to read some of the names.

May Favorites

I promise to get to my summary of Japan but I'm happy to be able to find some new topics for blogging. 

For the month of May, these are my 5 faves. They are things I have enjoyed so I'm sharing. :)

1: I have a seriously lack of eyelashes. Yes, my lashes are very light, thin and short. I don't like to wear mascara but I do for special occasions. I've tried false eyelashes but they're expensive and I always had someone put them on for me. I've felt self-conscious about them and the false ones seem to be really extreme so I felt conspicuous with them.
Flash to 2015...more styles are available and at my local Daiso (Japanese $1.50 store) has a so many ones to choose from. I figured I'm Asian so maybe I'll give them a go. I can pay $1.50 to try a few styles out.  Ta-da!! I found these and they work great. I can get about 3 uses out of them if I'm careful and they add some pop to my eyes. I am much more comfortable putting them on too. I buy about 6 or more so I always have some on hand.



2: Cosmetic Organizer/3 drawers. I don't have a huge array of cosmetics so I kept it all in a cosmetic bag but lately with a renewed interest in makeup etc I have to dig in the bag only to grab the wrong item. So when I was at Bed Bath and Beyond, I found this cute clear cosmetic organizer and it's perfect for the amount of makeup I have. It's actually more than enough, I have room for more stuff. My friend sells Mary Kay cosmetics so I have a drawer dedicated to samples. Now I know were everything is and makes putting makeup on a snap.



3: The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Cress is the 3rd book in the series. I started the first book Cinder earlier in May and here we are. Really clever in blending fairy tales and sci-fi. It may not be for everyone but I'm enjoying them a lot.

4: My mini-iPad cover. Hector have me a mini for Mother's Day so of course I want get a protective cover and this is what I found. Something colorful and unusual. :)


5: Dove Promises Dark Chocolate. I don't consider myself a chocoholic at all but I saw Easy 1 Minute Lava Cakes ( a quick 1 minute chocolate lava cake recipe)and had to try it. There are many ways to do this but I think this is the easiest... I tried this Memorial weekend and it came out great. I have leftover chocolate so I tried them and yum. :)




Have a great day!

Friday Roundup

Just catching up since we've been pretty busy with everything!

Round up in photos time!

Here we go...





Hector and I went to an amazing yakitori here in Torrance. Reservations a must. I tried the apple sochu which comes with frozen apple cups that you eat afterwards. Really good. the food there was excellent.



Fun with cats...no cats were harmed during this photoshoot.


Shadow had some sort of encounter one night so he needed a bath. You can see Phil's concerned paw on the edge of the sink. No humans were harmed during this bath period.




Josh got a haircut. No children were harmed although the kids beg to differ.




Phil attempted to 'shove' me down the stairs. I was not harmed.




Had a nice weekend in Mammoth! Everyone survived.