A Place You've Visited. Day 9

A Place I visited! Day 6 of Photo Blog Challenge.

Hawaii

My Husband and family went to Hawaii about 2 months ago and I can only begin to tell you how wonderful it all was. Hawaii is raw in many ways! The people seem to be of non judgment, fully welcoming with open arms as a matter of fact! The land is raw on certain islands and the endless beauty due to the lack of pollutants/ pollution is intoxicating.

This is the sunrise from our hotel on the Big Island. It was so serine. Here: We saw the steam vents of the active volcano, we got to experience a tunnel through the mountains which was created from lava flow, visited  Big Islands Candies (probably the best chocolate I've ever had, and experienced the most frightful night yet. Walking through a very rural place after dark and not knowing your way can be quite scary. Good thing i had my husband with me! ^^

My husband and I on the Island of Maui. Simply gorgeous. The sand was soo soft between your toes, and the waves were so inviting.... we had to jump in! (mind you we only had an hour or so to look around whalers village which is a huge mall next to the BEACH) I guess we simply couldn't help ourselves. Here we visit the town of La haina, as well as other landmarks of Maui, the most impressionable was Whalers beach...(soo gorgeous!)

 I think apature was opened for about 10 seconds. But this was our hotel room from Oahu. Absolutely gorgeous! You are currently looking at Wakiki beach on to the pacific ocean. We snorkeled, we ate, we walked, watch Polynesian shows, took a sunset cruise, and had to chance to take a submarine to the floors of the ocean to see various fishes. (Hawaii waters are pretty shallow....I think we made it like max 150 feet under water.) 

Hope you guys can go to Hawaii one day. Simply Amazing.

Lets be REAL~

I was watching frmheadtotoe on Phil Chau's Blog TV today and a very important topic came up. Before I get started I have to say I absolutely love watching Jen on youtube doing her makeup tutorials. Not only that she seems really real, sweet, and open to a lot of different subjects. She is down right amazing literally frmheadtotoe! 

However today there was a subject that hit me hard. Jen and Phil are "SUPER CHRISTIANS". They enjoy spreading the word of god and his glory which I have zero problem with. I am not Christian, I am more on the lines of being agnostic. If you don't know the meaning of being Agnostic is. The definition basically states that you do believe in a god, but not a specific one. But, what I mostly believe in are morals values and cultural beliefs.  I believe that if you need Christianity to stay within a certain set of rules than HEY, if you are not committing a crime, and if believing in GOD/ JESUS is keeping you from hurting someone else than the more power to you. I believe everyone knows what is right and what is wrong. It just really depends on how they want to act upon an action. 

With that said, I was raised Buddhist. My parents never forced me to conform to their beliefs which I love them for. What they did was show me a set of moral values and instilled culture from how they have grown up into me. I think Moral values are very important in our ever changing society. Study shows that in a very fast pace growing society people tends to lean towards being agnostic. They want to believe that there is a god, however, with all the scientific proof and the lack of commitment it is entirely impossible to fall under the strict guidelines of how to be a true Christian or Muslim or another other religion. Moral values are the foundation of being a good person. It doesn't have to come from one specific belief. As a matter of fact, I feel if you just believe in ONE God, you are in a sense hindering yourself because you already have a barrier of judgement up before someone can explain where they stand if it doesn't agree with your set of values. (this is only natural) Growing up I am sure you learned what was right and what was wrong. (No parents out there would purposely instill bad values upon their children.) I remember getting in trouble for hitting my younger brother because he was annoying me: My mom taught me that hurting someone is not right. I also remember trying on a mood ring at Claires and forgetting to take it off before leaving the store. My mom looked down at my hand and saw the ring and marched me right back to the store and made me apologize to the cashier.= Though it was innocent, I learned  that stealing was bad. There were a number of things that we did as children that shape who we are today. 

What I am trying to say is that its ok not to believe in any specific god, just as long as you know what is right from wrong. That you will only choose whats right because deep down inside you know its right. Do not judge others for their beliefs (Jen doesn't judge others on their belief. Just wanted to put this out there so it doesn't seem like I am attacking her or Phil.), judge them from the people they truly are. I know I get a general feel of a persons true intension from the first couple of minutes of knowing them. (though feelings can get clouded at times, however a gut feeling is a gut feeling and its pretty much always right.)

I love people of all different backgrounds and beliefs because I feel I can learn a lot just by getting to know them. Its a huge world out there, full of the nicest truest people. Do not hinder your abilities to make friends based on religious backgrounds. If at the end you still want to preach, preach whats right and whats wrong from experience. If you deeply believe in your GOD and want to preach your God its ok. Just be open minded if someone is quick to question and have a friendly discussion instead of being put off. Make a friend cause you never know, you might learn a thing or two! ^^

I hope that wasn't too deep. >.<

Drug Store Adventures.

Yesterday I decided to venture out of my comfort zone (which is department store make up) and went to a drug store. I have a new found love for lipstick and lip glosses and they can get really pricey at department stores!! Anyway, I found some coupons and headed off to Walgreens. 

The first Item I got was:

This is the lash exact that frmheadtotoe swears by! She said it was build-able and holds the curl so I was ecstatic to get this in my shopping basket.

Verdict: I tried it today and I have to say it really does hold the curl. My eyelashes are still curled!! However, its not as build-able as I would like. I absolutely love the Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara, but it doesn't hold a curl at all! I wish I could have the best of both worlds... can someone please make a suggestion!? 

Item number two:

This is the Revlon Color Stay Mineral Lip Gloss. Its suppose to be a lip gloss that last for 8 hours! I got this in  Endless Lilac and Perennial Pink. (They don't look like the online color swatches at all.)

Verdict: The first thing I noticed was the smell. Its this really really sweet fake strawberry smell. It is very true to the color that shows through the bottle. So, I've been wearing this lipgloss all day and it definitely doesn't stay for 8 hours. I can't say that it will last through a meal. Unless you don't eat... which is impossible for me, this lipgloss will never stay for 8 hours. On top of the lack of staying power... it drys up my lips pretty badly. My lips are intensely sensitive and peels on an extreme level...and I don't know if its just me but it feels like my lips are shriveling up! I would NOT recommend this lip gloss to anyone.

So I guess its not exactly two strikes, but I wasn't exactly thrilled with the experience. This wont be the last time I try drug store brands...but I have to say I am a bit discouraged! >.<

Something You Dislike~ Day7

Something I dislike....Day 7 Photo Blog Challenge!

Wow. This is tough...there are soo many damn thing I don't like lately. I guess I am stuck in negativity cloud of doom. 

I guess its mainly improvement I need to make on myself. 

1. Making excuses to go to the GYM! I really dislike this because I feel really damn guilty when I don't go. The weird thing is, I feel so much better after I GO! I guess its taking time and making the effort... Thats the hard part!

2. I dislike being too emotional. Holding in my feelings and blowing up on the wrong people. I really need to be more out spoken and just be straight forward!

3. I dislike being lazy. Like when I need to be studying and or keeping up with chores or classes. Lately i've really been sitting back and watching TV or getting on the computer shopping for hours with money I don't have.

4. I have a shopping problem. So I need to either get rich really fast or cut up my credit cards.

These are all things I need to work on.

Something you ate today Day 7~

Something I ate Today: Photo Blog Challenge DAY 7!

So lately I've really been obsessed with Banh Mi... I love the sound of crunch and the texture of the crunch in my mouth. Its titillating! I love everything that is crunchy: chips, bread, fruits that haven't ripened, crackers, veggies, fried chicken, french fries (the overly done ones), tacos...lol and the list goes ON! Banh Mi is a staple lately simply because its cheap and yummy and filling! For $2.95 I can get a foot long of delicious crunchiness with a combo of sweet, sour and spicy! What more could you want!? I am drooling as I am typing this BTW! I want another one!!! 

Visually you can see the BBQ pork, the marinated carrots and daikon, a hint of the jalapeños, and parsley. What you don't see if the delicious vietnamese mayo that drenches this deliciously crunchy sandwich. I WANT ANOTHER PLEASE!!

I heard many bad things associated with Lee's sandwiches in San Jose. However for the price, you kind of can't beat this place.

Representation of your day- What did you do~ Day 6

What I did today...Day 6 Photo Blog Challenge

This questions kind of weirds me out. I don't really like letting people know what I do on a daily basis. Like give a schedule of where I am and what I do to the world and not knowing who's on the receiving end. @.@ I will stay broad! 

Today I focused on myself. I've noticed lately that I've been extremely angry and its not like me to hold a grudge for so long. Its been taxing on my relationship with people that I really care about. I just didn't know how else to deal. Anyway, yesterday I was caught in a lie by a good girlfriend of mine and I of course was in tears explaining myself. She gave me a lot of good advice and really listened to my concerns. I had to take step back and really check myself. She gave me two options to think over and I took the day off school to reflect on those options. There are benefits to both options but I have to think thats best for me and my family. Hopefully I'll have answers by the end of the day!

Another thing I decided to focus on was my house! I was looking at pictures for my last blog post and honestly my house was hideously horrendous which is why I posted pictures from last Christmas. Dogs really can make a mess! lol but I love them and I decided that cleaning the house will erase some chaos in my life. ^^ A clean house is a happy house!


So heres another post of my humble abode. ^^

This is my bed! HOTEL COLLECTION LOVE! ^^

The center of my world. 

My Amazing kitchen. Perfect for this house!

This is my dinning room/ area. The closed off area is where my doggy hangs out when they are on time out. Wedding pictures on the wall.

Living room: Hardwood floors. Wedding pictures on the wall. Antique coffee table. Very rustic conglomeration meets contemporary. 

My Halloween decor. hehhee I attached bat wings to my Frankenstein. (Even Frankenstein wants to dress up for Halloween you know!!!?)

  

Your Humble Abode~ DAY 5

My Humble Abode Day 5 to Photo blog challenge.

My Husband and I purchased our Town-home 2 years this Christmas. It was a long process and besides paying market price at the beginning of a down turning economy this house has surprising kept its value. We are walking distance to anything essential such as Safeway, Walgrees, Osh, we are also close to 4 different free ways which makes it super convenient to get anywhere. Our quaint little house is smack down in the center of everything! 10 min drive to the most popular mall, and upscale shops, 10 min drive to a well know State University, 15 min walk to two downtown areas, 15 min walk to the nearest very popular arena. I have to say that we choose the perfect 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath home a first time home buyer could ask for. I am proud to call this place our home. 

This picture was taken last Christmas of my dinning room. I had a holiday party which is why you see all the Christmas decorations. I will be working on cleaning the house today so that it looks like this picture except with Halloween decorations! :)

This is my living room looking into the dinning room. Its not a huge place, but it sure is perfect for my husband and I plus a roommate! I love how modern this house is. All the neighbors are amazing and know each other. And even though we are near two train tracks, one is Cal Tran (which can be extremely annoying with the windows down) but because this place was just built when we moved in, it is very very well insulated! ^^ The other train is the VTA and those trains are so quiet people get ran over by these trains because they don't hear it.... The plus side is that VTA is also right around the corner! Very easy to hop on the train and head downtown without having to worry about being too drunk to drive home.

This is me in my kitchen. My love! Granit counter tops, maple cherry cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and lots of room for storage and moving around! ^^ I am in love with my house. I am Thankful to have such an amazing hard working husband that works damn hard everyday to afford this place. 

<3