it's not life that matters but the journey...

To all my friends here in the U.S. I hope you are having a very restful and happy Thanksgiving Day. Masahiko and I are alone, by choice. My mom was going to come over to Seattle with my brother, but she caught the flu, so she's staying home today. My sister and her kids are going to have dinner with her husband's family, but we just don't want to deal with a big crowd. We already dealt with a crowd of about 30 kids and adults for my nephew's 5th birthday party last Sunday!
So in lieu of crowds and food we don't really like, we're lazing around the apartment this morning, washing clothes, and then going for lunch at Samurai Noodle! Yay - nothing says Thanksgiving better than a big bowl of ramen noodles, right??!!

I haven't really updated much on my life recently. so if you're interested here goes: I've been at my new job for 2 weeks now, and so far it's going pretty well. I'm getting busier which is good - at least some days are busy. Last week, Jeannie (one of the lawyers) was in Hawaii, so I mostly did things for Ken (her husband, the other lawyer) and I was on dog duty. That means, I walked the dog at least 2 or 3 times a day. She's a sweet dog, so I didn't mind. Her name is Bubbles, she's a mix of Maltese and Poodle, so small and cuddly and fluffy. Here she is:





I'm learning more about how to do things around the office, and I think I'm proving that I'm a fast learner, and adaptable. My bosses must like me because I'm getting paid for both holidays (today and tomorrow) even though I've been there just two weeks! I feel pretty lucky!

In other news... I have no other news. I'm gonna relax this weekend, color my hair, and enjoy the peace and quiet of my apartment - as long as the upstairs neighbors don't decide to have a party!

Oh and finally, I got lots of replies to my holiday card post, but there's still quite a few of you I haven't heard from. So if you haven't already done so, please visit this post and let me know your address. Email addresses are fine too. I know it's a busy time of year, but I want to stay in touch with you all!

Have a great week, a great holiday, and stay safe and warm!

I just wanted to do a quick update - things are crazy around here and will get crazier as the week progresses. Yesterday afternoon, five of my family members arrived from Sacramento - my aunt Pam, uncle Roger, cousin Andrea and her two children Christian (who's 14) and Kira (who's 9). They are some of my dearest relatives, and I haven't seen them since last summer's family reunion. They'll be staying for a week - three of them are staying at our house, the other two are staying over at my aunt and uncle's house. And Kira, the 9-year-old, is staying in the empty twin bed next to me downstairs. It's fun having her around, but of course I'm having to get accustomed to sharing my space. She's a sweetheart though - and I'm enjoying spending the time with her and with Christian, who's also just the sweetest kid. Today Kira and Christian helped me to bake pumpkin cookies! The rest of the week will be super busy as all of us prepare for this huge Thanksgiving feast on Thursday, and also get the program and decorations and last minute cooking and preparations done for the big 50th Wedding Anniversary party we're having for my parents on Saturday.

And to add to the chaos, tomorrow morning, I'm meeting an old friend of mine, Carol, who I used to teach with at the college - we're going to have coffee and talk for an hour or so. Then tomorrow afternoon I'll have to make grocery lists and maybe start shopping - I've been having fun planning some of the dishes I want to contribute to the Thanksgiving meal - I'm going to challenge myself and make a broccoli, mushroom and gouda quiche - and I might also make a corn and sweet potato soup! I'm trying to add some more vegetarian dishes to the meal, since I'm trying to cut back on meat this year and not eat any turkey ... although we'll have plenty of veggie dishes like corn stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, and spinach salad.

Oh and also tomorrow, if time allows, Andrea and the kids and I are going out to see New Moon ! I'm excited to watch that with the kids, because Kira especially is a huge Edward fan.

It's going to be such a fun week, but boy it's hard to have so many people running around in this small house - we had 11 for dinner last night, and we'll have 14 for Thanksgiving since my sister and her family are also coming! my brother left today to spend two months in Portland, so he won't be around - and I'm sure he's enjoying the peace and quiet of his hostel tonight. But as loud and crowded as it may get, I'm going to savour these family moments, since in just two weeks I'll be in Japan, far away from my own family for quite some time.

Anyway, if I'm scarce this week, you'll know why... but I have a feeling that lots of people will be busy (at least those in the U.S. who celebrate Thanksgiving)...

have a great week everyone!

For those who are celebrating it -


Glitterfy.com - Glitter Graphics

it's almost 2 p.m. and I'm so sleepy. My husband and I, since it's just the two of us and we didn't want to cook, went out to the kaiten-zushi (otherwise known as the rotating sushi bar) for lunch and pigged out on sushi, tempura and miso soup - yummmmy! it was not crowded at all, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Now I'm ready to settle in for the afternoon and bake some pumpkin cookies, do some knitting, read my textbook (I'm only 100 pages behind!), and sleep... oh and do holiday cards too!

I called my family this morning - they are all at my mom's house in Port Angeles, WA - my sister and Cameron (my nephew) are there visiting for a couple days. I wish I was there too! I was feeling so lonely and homesick yesterday - I always get this way at the holidays. I vowed that I wouldn't spend another holiday season away from my family, yet here I am 2000 miles away from them, with not enough holiday time to go out there to visit.

But next year I may be able to get back to Washington permanently. at least that's the current plan. I've been saying this every year, but finally I'm in a position to make it happen. Since I'll be done with my paralegal certificate in May, there's no more reason for me to stay out here so far away from all of my family (they're all on the west coast). I need to be near them all again - at least for a while. I found out this morning that my favorite uncle in California has been really sick. He recently had bladder surgery, then because of his diabetes his blood sugar shot up to 400 and he caught pneumonia on top of that! They were able to bring his blood sugar down, but he is fighting the pneumonia now with a series of antibiotics - I really hope he is okay! what a way for my poor aunt and cousin to spend Thanksgiving.

I thought I'd end my post by writing a list of what I'm thankful for today.
Thanksgiving may not have as much meaning for me when I'm away from family, and I've been having a pretty hard time staying positive with my lack of direction and stability lately, but I think it's a good idea for me to think about what I can truly say thank you for:

1) The relationship that I have with my husband - even though it's up and down, he has always been there for me for 7 years! He's my best friend.
2) My cat, Leo - I realized last night, when I was feeling down, that my cat is a true comfort for me.
3) My wonderful family - including my not yet born niece (who will be born in February). They are always supportive whenever I need them.
4) My awesome LJ friends - you're always here to support me too whenever I'm down, and to share stuff with me and join in the joys of fandomness... I don't know where I'd be without Supernatural, which is how I met most of you!
5) I'm thankful that I have a job, money in the bank, a roof over my head, and food to eat. That's very important these days not to take for granted.
6) my relatively good health, especially after my recent fainting spell. nothing turned out to be wrong, so I'm happy for that!

That's about it. There might be other little things that I'm thankful for (like Jensen Ackles, Chocolate, Sushi, etc...), but these are the most important! and I'd really be thankful if I had some pie!!!

so what are you all thankful for!

have a happy day no matter where you are:)

I think it's about time for winter icons - since it snowed on Thursday, and the little lake in our apartment community is now frozen!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a very nice Thanksgiving (those of you here in the states, that is), and that your weekend was relaxing! I thoroughly enjoyed having Thursday off from work, and I didn't even miss my class that night. I was bummed, however, that the first Thursday I actually could be home, there was no new "Supernatural" - apparently it's on hiatus until mid-December *sigh*. As for the actual holiday, the only thing I really wished for this year was to be with family. Otherwise, it was really just another day. This is the third Thanksgiving in a row that I haven't been with my parents - not being with family makes all holidays really pointless, especially Thanksgiving. Last year we didn't do anything at all - I think we just stayed in our apartment and watched tv - I was knitting a blanket for my nephew, but otherwise things weren't too exciting a year ago. The year before that, we were in Japan - for fun, I thought I'd link you to my Thanksgiving post from 2005 - it's interesting for me to re-read this, and you might enjoy the persective from someone spending the holidays abroad:

thoughts on Thanksgiving while in Japan - 2005

But actually this year we did something different for Thanksgiving - we went out to dinner in Chinatown and ate the most fabulous Chinese food. We were invited by Masahiko's friend Minoru and his wife Mie; they wanted to take us out because I helped Mie write a letter of recommendation for her job. Minoru is another blues guitarist who Masahiko met several years ago when we first moved to Chicago. Recently, Minoru gave up being a full time musician to work full time in an office, mostly so he could spend more time with his wife and their new baby boy, Kaito who was born just about a year ago. We drove to their house in the city late afternoon Thursday and spent about an hour or so playing with Kaito and drinking coffee. I didn't get any pics of the four of us, but I did get some of the baby (which is much more interesting, I'm sure):

( Here's some pics of adorable Kaito )

then we drove to Chinatown and to a huge restaurant that was packed full of Chinese people - in fact, I was one of only two non-Asians in the whole restaurant! We got the most amazing food, including the best shrimp I've ever had, plus complimentary lobster:

( our thanksgiving feast )

Friday we both went to work for a short time - I was done by 1:30 and Masahiko was done by 3 p.m. We decided to get takeout that night for dinner - pasta from Spaghetti Warehouse down the street, and stuffed ourselves again. Saturday was a day of errands and spending money - I had to spend $400 to have the axle shaft fixed on my Nissan! so much for saving... and for Christmas presents!! Today we drove out to Michigan to the surf shop so Masahiko could get his new winter wetsuit (yes he is going to surf Lake Michigan in the wintertime!!) - we had some lunch there at a little cafe and got home by 4 p.m. Now I'm relaxing and trying not to think of a full week of work and school ahead of me.

hope I was able to catch up on everyone else's posts - I've been trying:)

have a great week!!

And to everyone out there, regardless of where you are, I extend my hopes that you are all
surrounded by love, warmth, family, friends and good food. Even if it sometimes seems that you don't have everything you want, you have to stop and look at what you have. Be grateful for that. We are all lucky to be alive.

Sadly I won't be with any of my family this year again (last year we were in Japan) - it will just be me and M and the cat. Our little family. and we will probably eat sushi or curry. I can't cook Turkey - haha!! and I have no big plans, just watching tv, practicing knitting, baking pumpkin cake, and reading... it will be a nice day, I'm sure. though it would be better if we could be with a big group of people. I feel I need that right now.

But regardless of what I don't have, I am still thankful for many things.
Here's what I am thankful for this year:

* My wonderful new nephew, Cameron

* my sister's beautiful new family (she was married and had a baby all in one year!) - she deserves this happiness after years of not being with the right person

* the roof over my head, food in my refrigerator, and money in the bank (even though it's not much) - and a job to go to (even though it's dreadful sometimes, at least I have it)

* my good health, and the fact that my family and friends are healthy and doing well

* my husband and my cat

* and last but not least, my wonderful LJ friends, who make me have something to look forward to every day!

so what are you all thankful for?