Weekend Recap: Recorded by Huji

I recently rediscovered the HUJI photo app on my phone. It acts as a disposable camera and puts a date stamp on the bottom corner and even adds light flares to mimic film photography. It’s not the same as actual film, but it does add a bit of timelessness and individuality to each shot. I used to use this app often in Japan and kind of forgot about it until recently…so this weekend I took a bunch of photos using Huji and here is the recap.

Saturday morning the sibs and I went to grab MOON DONUTS in Redondo beach. My brother’s gf drove down to hang out with us and we all cruised on over in the morning. I had never been to this spot before and was PLEASANTLY surprised!!! So yum.

The kids and I enjoyed dancing in the window reflection in the parking lot.

The youngest member of our crew: Obi! Happy as ever.

A quick drive from MOON DONUTS was the Redondo Pier. Luckily we arrived early beating the normal crowds. We found quick parking and a spot to sit down and eat.

YUMMMM…DONUTS <3 The best one IMO was the crumb donut!!

B E A U T I F U L weather and crisp ocean air. We are blessed here in socal !

I saw this cute wall of an icecream shop and told Eden to pose since she was wearing similar colors. And of course…little sis Tayah had to follow suit saying, “NOW IT’S MY TURN” lol!

We cruised around the pier for a while, looking at the fishermen, boats and letting the kids run free. It was the best start to the weekend.

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Next stop after the beach was meeting up with KC (the bf :) ) and he helped me do some photo prep for an upcoming wedding I am shooting. We were feeling hungry after and decided to brave the long line at in&out HAHA and grabbed some food. Then we headed to our next destination which was: Dodgers and Pizza at my bro’s house!

Game 6 was awesome to watch all together, and we all ate Gigi’s pizza too. Now, yes, KC and I did just eat In&out but we were feeling in that weekend party mode and ate pizza too LOL!

Gigis pizza .. SO GOOD!

Jordan was very eager to eat our fries haha!

We chilled the rest of the day and watched the Dodgers win game 6 and force a game 7!! EPIC!!!!! Super fun Saturday full of some comfort food and time with the fam.

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Next up: Sunday!

I woke up and watched our church livestream with my parents. Then KC picked me up and we headed out to a lunch hangout with two of his friends. We drove down to Santa Ana, had super bomb shabu shabu, and walked the shops. They have a Stussy store down there that was open and I wanted to go look for this one hat I had my eye on. *true story: I saw Lebron wearing the hat and wanted to buy it because of him HAHA - turns out they had it in stock! So I made that quick purchase and wore it the rest of the day. happy amie :)

KC then drove us to Long Beach to check out the views by Queen Mary. He went to CSULB and holds many memories in the LBC so we often drive here for fun. It was such a beautiful day out and I made him put on my new Stussy hat - does’t it look good on him!?!

After enjoying the fresh air in Long Beach, we drove back home and watched the Dodgers game 7 with my parents! We drank Mango cart, ate chips (still full from shabu) and cheered on the Dodgers as they (quite miraculously) beat the Braves to get their ticket to the World Series!! What an EPIC game!!

And lastly, I can’t end this weekend recap without pointing out a very kind gesture from KC. This past week I was feeling pretty emotional, with just a lot swirling in my head and heart. He was always a listening ear for me and approached all of my feelings with gentleness and understanding. On Sunday when he picked me up to go to lunch, he opened the back door of his car and said, “since I know it’s been a tough week for you…” and handed me a bouquet of the prettiest most lively flowers and *drumroll….PEANUT M&MS!!!!!!!!!! OMG. MY HEART. My immediate reaction in my head was, “omg. no one outside of my father has ever given me flowers!” HAHAH!!! And my second reaction was, “wow. this guy is a winner. how’d I get so lucky?”

I felt really blessed by this weekend. It was a simple two days, eating yummy food, playing with the kids, being outside in the fresh air, letting all the COVID anxiety roll off my shoulders, being with my siblings and parents, and making new memories with KC.

Wow, God is good <3

Gratitude list - 感謝のリスト

Recently I found myself in a funk.

The whole world felt fragile, like everything was about to burst. I felt fear begin to erode my faith and security in God. It was not a pleasant place to be. I am a pretty optimistic person, but I can get in these sad patches every so often, when I let worry seep into the open space in my mind and I give it the fuel to grow into a bigger monster. But there is good news. In the midst of the not-so-pretty-days in my head, I have noticed one crystal clear antidote… G R A T I T U D E.

grat·i·tude

/ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/ noun

1. the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Gratitude. To pause. To take a deep breath. To say hello to the chaos in my mind, in my heart, in the world, and to combat it directly with the goodness of God. That is gratitude. To acknowledge that in all honesty, I deserve nothing. And yet God has always been kind. He has always provided. He has never left me. He has always been faithful. And He is always in control. To embrace this truth is the most healing thing for my soul.

So today, I made a gratitude list.

A simple collection of the things I am thankful for.

Palm Springs 2020 - B&W

It’s October already? HOW??

The concept of time is something I have lost touch with this year. A month feels like an eternity and a millisecond all at once. It’s strange and surreal and I am not sure what is going on exactly. There are days when all I want to do is slow everything down to molasses; feel the sun on my face, sip some coffee and do absolutely nothing. And then there are days when all I want to do is speed everything up; hop on a plane, go on a wild adventure, work tirelessly and bring to fruition every dream I ever had. I currently exists between these two extremes; leaving me constantly searching for a moment to breathe and be present.

So this past weekend when my family took our annual trip to Palm Springs, I felt an immense gratitude for the present moment. I felt so thankful to all be together, to all be healthy and safe, and to have an entire weekend just us cooped up in a house with a pool- not a care in the world - and a chance to release the stresses of time.

And because this weekend was so special, I found myself needing to see these photos in black and white. Even though the desert landscape oozes shades of burnt orange, deep red and vibrant yellow, I needed to strip them down to black and white…because these moments feel timeless. Snapshots I want to freeze forever. And B&W helps me do that.

So here we go - Palm Springs 2020…

We booked a nice house in Indio to stay in for the weekend. In a nice gated community, with an awesome pool and plenty of rooms for all of us to fit - it was the perfect spot for us!

We were kindly greeted with a nice bottle of wine and a welcome note on the kitchen counter. That was a nice touch. As for me, it felt good to have my camera with me, since I haven’t been taking as many photos this year compared to years prior. I was happy to shoot once again, capturing these moments we’ll never get back. Like pairs of tiny shoes all throw around the entry way.

Jordan is a year and a half and he has the most infectious smile!! Love this little boy.

Cam and Eden both love being helpful and found a lot of joy and pride in assisting me in loading the fridge with water bottles and snacks to keep cool. cutest! Tayah on the other hand was just goofing off in the living room - she’s pure entertainment that one lol!

We checked in at 2PM and headed straight to the pool!! D with the mad hops.

Tay and E often look like twins, especially with their floaties on! It was so nice to be poolside with all my siblings eating snacks and chillin in the water.

That glorious palm springs sunshine! 100+ degrees every day.

J and P are both on the move now…J walking (basically running) everywhere and P scooting his bottom all over the ground with an occasional few steps here and there. They are precious and I love these boys.

Peter Obadiah!

When the kids weren’t in the pool they were chilin watching the ipad or running through the halls. Our family is truly blessed to have 7 kids who all love one another and get such good quality time together!

Saturday night dinner was made by Jen - steak, grilled veggies, creamed corn, salad, fresh fruit and rice. Delicious! These are the special, simple moments I will always remember.

Tay 3yrs, Ofie 5yrs. Love these spunky girls.

The backyard of the house was so nice! Really well manicured and so relaxing to be in. There were many seating areas and plenty of space for all of us. I loved it!

These kids bring me so much joy and I am blessed every day to see them! They love morning cartoons, dancing to VBS songs, swimming in the pool until their hands turned into raisins, and eating candy non stop. Being around them so much keeps me humble and reminds me of the simple joys of life. I love them all!

We woke up Sunday morning bright and early and went on a neighborhood walk with the kids. I love this shot of Stac, my dad and all 7 of them. <3 Even though it was only 8AM a this point, it was already 100+ degrees outside and at the end of our walk Hunter said in dramatic fashion, “that (the walk) was the worst thing I have ever done in my entire life!” 9 year olds can be so dramatic sometimes haha!!

Stac always multitasking as a mom of 4. And Cam and Len are what we call “cousin twins!” same age, same grade and best buddies. They love playing together and are even in the same class in school now!

Sissy and Obi

My mom came outside for a bit on Sunday which was nice! She was mostly staying cool inside the house with the AC which was good for her. I was thankful to see her enjoy the weekend and be safe, comfortable and well rested.

In a surprising turn of events, Mr. someone special in my life (refer to previous post hehe) came for the latter half of this weekend. From here on out i’ll probably refer to him by his initials, KC <3 It was surreal having him there! I almost couldn’t believe it…here was this guy I am getting to know, spending time with my entire family, showing the kids his cool drone and splashing around in the pool with all of them, all the while my heart feeling so happy and at ease having him around. I found myself realizing that I was witnessing an answer to prayer. I had always prayed to be with someone who got along with my family and genuinely wanted to hang out with them. And KC walked in and was just as comfy with them as they were with him. A prayer answered. The grace of God evident.

One of my favorite moments was when KC bent down to show my mom what the drone footage looked like. My heart almost burst! This guy is so kind and so caring…and without me even having to explain much to him, he knew from the get-go that my mom is an important person in my life and that making sure she is ok and happy is one of my top priorities. What a good man!!! <3

This is another one of my favorite shots from the weekend…and not only because it’s a great photo of my siblings and my mom, but because my dad took it and we made fun of him for how off centered it is LOL!! But, the best thing about it is that HE took it and it IS off centered because that is what makes it special. And I love my siblings. Forever grateful for them!

I also really love this shot of my parents <3 they are everything to me!!!

J was fearless in the pool! Love this kid.

Sunday night was really fun! We all sat around the living room and played LCR with 3 dollars each. It’s a game of complete luck which makes it fun to play with kids of all ages because they just have to roll dice haha! And the BEST part of this all was…the one winner of the entire pot of money at the end was *drumroll….KC OF ALL PEOPLE !!! hahaha!!! The ONE guest we had at the house ended up winning the entire pot of $30+ bucks. amazing. Couldn’t have planned it better myself.

I loved that memory of all sitting in a circle playing LCR.

Monday morning we all woke up bright and early…KC and I went on a coffee run and snapped a few shots of the sunrise…the kids got one last swim in the pool and then we headed home.

I was so thankful to have a weekend with my family and to share the experience with KC as well. Even though we just started dating, I already feel this safety and security with him, this level of comfort and trust I never could have imagined - EVER! But God is gracious, God is kind, God is all knowing, and God is in the details and HE Knew exactly the kind of guy that my heart needed. Very thankful for the good Lord and for KC being a man of God who I admire, respect, trust and get to grow with through all the ups and downs. And…he even drove me all the way home taking me to Downtown Disney on the way back for a little date to end the weekend. I kept having to pinch myself- is this real life???

And that wraps it up folks. Palm Springs 2020 was amazing. A true blessing. This year has been so difficult for so many reasons- so to be able to actually go on a short trip and feel a sense of adventure and fun was invigorating! Thankful. Very very thankful.

LIFE UPDATE: someone special

9.5.2020

Current lessons God is teaching me:

1) He is in the details
2) He is ALWAYS faithful to His promises
3) Sunsets are one of His true masterpieces
4) He is good, all the time

Slight life update- someone special has walked into my life recently and it has been quite the journey so far. I could easily write a novel about him, how we met, how things started and the miracle of meeting someone in the middle of a global pandemic - but I will save that for another post. What I want to say now is this - God has blessed me richly and I am undeserving.

I think back to the many many days and nights I walked through life with my head full of questions: “God, where will I meet someone? Is that him? Why hasn’t he come into my life yet? Why didn’t that work out? Is he in Japan? Is he back home? How could he fit into my life? How could I fit into his? How will it all work out?”

So to sit here today, typing these words, heart full of gratitude. It is as if God has wrapped His big loving arms around me and said with His fatherly voice, “see, I told you it would all work out. I am faithful to my promises. I wanted you to trust me all those days because I was preparing you for this road you would go down. I have always loved you, always wanted the best for you and now you can walk ahead in joy.”

Now, this is not to say I have it all figured out! Because everything is so new for me and I am just beginning to see all the lessons God has in store for this someone special and I. But I will say that I feel the blessings of God, the goodness of God, the faithfulness of God and the peace of God in this new chapter of my life and that is more than I could have ever asked for or imagined.

There will be many more posts about this person to come :)

I’ll end with this quote from A Severe Mercy (by Sheldon Vanauken), one of my favorite books of all time..

“If it's half as good as the half we've known, here's Hail! to the rest of the road.”

<3<3<3

作る "TO MAKE" : 10/10 CONBINI

This is the 10th and final installment of my 作る series…where I recreate some of my favorite photos of Japan with my apple pen and tell a short story about what they mean to me.

Although it’s taken me since June to make all 10 drawings, I feel a sense of accomplishment rounding them out and putting a nice end to this little project. This may mark the end of this series but I am going to continue challenging myself creatively by working on a few new ideas and seeing where those take me.

Here is my last and final 作る piece (for now):

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“CONBINI”

This is the 7-eleven that was right next to my apartment in Japan. Literally…the building right next to me. And I love it. I find it quite comical that I now have an emotional attachment to a convenience store, but for anyone who has ever spent a significant amount of time in Japan, you will know what I mean.

This 7-eleven store felt like that safe, welcoming, neighborhood friend that always waves to you when you’re walking along the street. A place that makes home feel more like home. My favorite moments were Saturday morning, when I would wake up early and walk down the stairs of my apartment building and over to 7-eleven to get a cup of coffee (Medium size) and a pastry (butter an-pan my fav). I would push the door open and immediately be greeted by Taki-san, the nice middle aged lady with short hair and a calm presence, who always worked at this particular store. Taki-san would smile at me and ask how my week at work was. I always enjoyed our little chats.

Along with Taki-san, there was also a younger guy around my age with big round eyes and a thick head of hair who never said a single word. I would smile at him and he would just glance up at me for .0005 seconds with those big, dark eyes and then look away without making a peep. I eventually gave him the nickname “Drama-boy” because he reminded me of some mysterious character in a drama series. One more employee I always saw, other than Taki-san and Drama-boy, was an older man with the most cheerful presence. He reminded me of my grandpa Sumio, with short white hair, a tall face full of freckles, and a gentle voice that would raise an octave when he greeted you. “ohayouuuuu gozaimasuuuu!” This man was so kind and worked quickly with his hands, always processing your order in record time. I gave him the nickname, “kind-grandpa”.

After about a year of frequenting this 7-eleven on a daily basis, I basically memorized the employees work schedules and knew who I would be seeing depending on what time of day I was going there. Taki-san in the mornings, drama-boy every night and kind-grandpa almost every weekend. 7-eleven became a place that grounded me to home in Kashiwa, this tiny shop in the middle of Japan where I payed my bills, got cash out, bought coffee, got snacks and food, and lived my life on a daily basis. I loved it.

Then, the craziest thing happened.

I was talking to Taki-san one day. I asked how she was doing, just casually. No one was in the store so she had a moment to pause and talk to me longer. She said she was having a hard time actually, because her husband was sick. He couldn’t work so she was worried about her family. I felt very concerned for her and my mind raced for all the right words to say to comfort this sweet lady who had become my friend. Then she said the line that shocked me most, “my husband works here, at this store too.” WHOA. WHOA. WHAT?? If he works here that means…I definitely know him. “Who is your husband?” I asked eagerly. “You know, the old man who works here. That is my husband.” KIND-GRANDPA IS TAKI-SANS HUSBAND??? But, the shock didn’t end there. She followed, “my son works here too.” WHAT!!! YOUR SON?? My mind raced. I was pretty sure there was only one other male employee at this store…and she confirmed, “The boy who is quiet that works here, yeah that is my son.” DRAMA BOY IS TAKI-SANS SON??? How had I lived for more than a year not knowing they were a family!???

I told Taki-san I would be praying for her husbands health. I knew she wasn’t a Christian, nor had she any idea what I meant by that, but Japanese people are spiritual by nature so she was appreciative of my offer to pray for him. I went home that night in shock of this convenience store family who all worked so diligently at this one store…becoming my neighbors and friends… and I just felt this overwhelming love in my heart for them.

The day finally came, when it was time for me to move out of my apartment in Kita-Kashiwa after three years and head back to the states. I remember the day vividly. I packed up my apartment with the help of my good friend Naomi, who was visiting. I locked my door one last time and knew I needed to stop by the one important place. I walked those 2 minutes to 7-eleven, full of emotion, went to the counter to see Taki-san who was on her usual shift and I said, “I am leaving Kita-Kashiwa today. I’m going back to America soon. Thank you for everything.” Taki-san quickly waved her hands at me, “wait here…” as she swiftly went to the back office for a minute. What was she doing there? She came back with a big box of things…and started throwing them in a plastic bag. “Here, this is for you! Take these cookies, this chocolate, this drink…” as she proceeded to put a bunch of food in this bag for me to take. My eyes swelled with gratitude. She was so kind. Over three years she really became a friend to me and someone who made Kashiwa home.

I left that day with these finals words to Taki-san, “i’ll be back to visit!”

More than a year from my last convenience store goodbye, I found myself back in Japan. I finally got to visit Kita-Kashiwa again. I couldn’t wait to walk back to see Taki-san and her family at 7-eleven.

Sure enough… I walked back through those all familiar doors and was immediately greeted by the cheerful, kind and welcoming face of Taki-San- still working hard, in her usual work attire, on her normal schedule, in a convenience store in the middle of Japan. “YOU CAME BACK!!” she said. That is a moment i’ll always treasure.

Taki San and I on the day I moved out of my apt, August 2018.

That glorious comforting cup of 7-eleven coffee! My go-to!!!

Taki San and I when we reunited in October, 2019!