Hawaii - Day 2

 Good Morning Day 2!

Basically I planned the whole trip because Steve didn't want to plan anything till the last day... For day 2 we went to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling. We had to wake up early to make sure we got a parking spot ($1 parking fee at the park) so we skipped breakfast T_T

 Our rental car

The GPS I used on my phone brought us to the wrong park.. the real park was like 15-20 minutes away from where we were.

 Hanauma Bay

Its such a beautiful place to be, I just wish there were less people lol

 Cool water

The last time I came here there seemed to be less rocks.. lol. I tried to swim without a life vest but.. it didn't work out, Steve was like "seriously?" yes, seriously I was never taught how to swim.

For survival!

I was probably the only adult that had one of these on LOL but I don't care!

Remember that underwater case I got?

Yeah it didn't work too well, I remember reading the reviews on amazon and people saying that they could use their touchscreen phones underwater, yeah its not true lol. Water protection was great but otherwise its just like a waterproof bag, and you could imagine how paranoid I was putting my phone in there.

Moved to the left side

We went to the right side at first but we decided to go to the other side to see if there was anything better to see in the water, but it was the same, a bit deeper.

Note: Bring your own food! Last time I came here with Ashley we brought chicken mcnuggets lol but the food place they have at the top is so expensive $5 for a small thing of french fries and $10 for a tiny cheeseburger -___-' not worth it.

Took the top off

Steve was so excited to take the top off of this Jeep, it was a nice ride but I really didn't want to get more tan LOL and plus I hate wind.

We went back to the hotel to drop off our stuff and to take a nice shower.

Curry House Coco Ichibanya

Craving some Japanese curry and some katsu O..O

Its a small restaurant, had probably like 10 seats or less so we got our food to go and ate at the food court nearby. This place is cash only too and they have Japanese drinks (I got the melon soda ^_^)

Chicken Cheese and Tako ball

Best katsu I've had in a LONG time. The chicken was so crispy and so juicy. I wish the curry was a bit spicier but otherwise it was so good! Really filling and was like $10

Steve got the Tako ball one, it was alright lol, he wished he got the pork one or something since he does eat a lot.

After we ate, we just wandered around the Ala Moana mall and then we headed back to the hotel for a nap.

OH! I forgot to mention, When we were walking around the Waikiki area I wanted to find the Nature Republic but it wasn't there, I thought they closed it and we came across it at the Ala Moana mall! Boy was I happy lol.

Kyung's Seafood

Alright! So we went to Kyung's Seafood for dinner for day 2 for some sashimi and more Korean food. Seriously, all the places we went to had like Korean food lol. Steve drank again of course but we shared a bottle of soju and Hite beer together - which got me drunk so fast lol.

We ordered the small sashimi plate which was $30 US (we wish we got the medium), Seafood pancake, fish cake soup and steamed dumplings (I wanted the fried one but Steve wouldn't let me get it -__-')

Dumplings and Fishcake soup

We did order a lot for 2 people. The dumplings were ok, I wish we got the fried one lol. The soup was good though not very heavy and pretty comforting - they give you a huge bowl of it.

Our seafood pancake

Hands down, the best seafood pancake I've had. Steve even said that he's never had one like this, not even in Korea. Its so thick and crispy and full of veggies and seafood T_T SO GOOD!

Look at that inside!

We walked to Mcdonalds afterwards for an ice cream to sober up before we drove back to the hotel. We had to sleep early because we were heading to the North Shore the day after and we were pretty exhausted from being in the sun earlier.

See you in day 3!

Hawaii Trip - Day 1

Hawaii Trip

Alright, let's start at the beginning!

The day we were flying to Hawaii I had to work a few hours before the flight. The flight was at 6AM and I got off at 2AM. Steve was supposed to pick me up but of course he forgot -___-' he fell asleep. He came after I called him though, its a good thing he doesn't live that far from the hospital, and then we went to his place to finish up packing.

 Our luggage

Steve had finished packing (he had the grey suitcase) but since I wasn't packing much clothes I had to shift his clothes over to mine and we put all the non-important stuff into the grey suitcase.

 Took a cab...

So Steve's mom was supposed to drop us off in the airport. My mom offered to drop us off earlier but I told her it was alright cause his mom was supposed to drop us off but no, she bailed on us last minute. She told us to take a cab because she was tired but she got up at 4AM to check to see if we were ready to go and all packed up, so I was like WTF.

I told Steve I'm not paying for a cab because he had said that we were getting a lift and I rejected an offer from my mom, plus he had to go back to work to pick up his debit card because he left it there. The cab ride ended up being like $60 something dollars. So.. yeah... good job Steve's mom.

 At the airport past security and baggage drop off

We flew with United Airlines and we departed from YVR. I am so glad that we got nexus cards because when we arrived at the airport it was close to 5AM and there was a huge line for security, we probably would have taken like 25 minutes going through but we got through in like 5 minutes hahaha.

When we got to the nexus declaration part Steve had to get pulled in for questioning LOL. Its because someone shares the exact same name as him and that person has a criminal record so I guess they had to confirm it wasn't him LOL.

For breakfast he got a whopper from burger king LOL I ended up getting something to eat in San Francisco.

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Day 1 in Hawaii

 At San Francisco Airport

Our connecting flight was to San Francisco and our layover was just an hour so we grabbed some pizza and went off to wait at our gate.

 Boarded the flight

Flight to Hawaii was about 5 hours. I usually can't fall asleep on planes, I guess since I worked before we left and didn't get any sleep, I managed to get a few hours of sleep. I ended up playing earthbound on a net book I had lol.

 At the car rental

We rented a car from Dollar Car Rental (...? I can't remember what it was called) It was a mess trying to get to the car rental place from the airport. There were huge lineups and the shuttle that takes you to the car rental place only picked up people from one end and there were tons of people waiting at the other end.

It took about 30-40 minutes to pick up our vehicle too because there were so many people >.< We rented a 2013 Jeep (not sure the model, but we think its the base model)

 Made it to the AirBnB

I got a message from our airbnb host saying that our room was ready but we had to wait like 20 minutes at the lobby for him to come. I was getting really impatient lol.

 Our room

The hotel was a little dingy and smelled kind of weird but the room itself was quite nice and air conditioned, there was a small view to the river too which was nice. The bathroom was a decent size but I think the bathtub is clogged or something because it drains water really slowly >.<

 The buildings around the hotel were quite old..

I sent that photo to my friend and said we were in the ghetto lol. We changed and put some stuff away and went off to explore. Mainly get lunch.

 Marukame Udon

We went to the udon place for lunch, I went with Ashley the last time I was in Hawaii and I knew Steve would like it. He got the cold ramen and I regrettably got the hot one (my legs were so sweaty after I ate it LOL)

I also got an egg tempura, potato croquette, a piece of fried chicken (WHICH WAS AMAZING super juicy and crispy T_T) and a prawn tempura.

Afterward we went off to explore the waikiki area.

 Kai Coffee Shop (?)

I can't really remember what the name of the coffee shop was but it was Kai something.. Kai Hawaii?? Bah.. I don't know but we got this Macadamia nut coffee iced drink thing (I can't blog anymore.. LOL) which was really really good.

We ended up going back to the hotel to rest up for a bit and went out to dinner after.

 Nice walk to the restaurant

The restaurant was really close to where we were staying (like a 10-15 minute walk) and plus we were gonna go drinking too so it was a good thing we walked.

Yogurt Soju

They give you SO MUCH in a kettle and! it was all for me LOL. I wanted to finish the whole kettle but Steve wouldn't let me because I turned so red. Steve ended up drinking a giant Hite beer and a bottle of soju to himself, he had a bit of the yogurt soju too but he wasn't that drunk...

So red!

Couple the alcohol with lack of sleep and the long flights, I got fucked up LOL.

678 Hawaii

One of the best Korean restaurant experiences I've had in a long time. Great food and drinks. I drank so much my whole back and legs were red... (I literally can't drink that much). I want to do a full on blog post for this place so just wait for that!

Walking home wasn't fun LOL I was so full of food and super drunk, Steve was worried I'd jump into the river lol.

And that was the first night!

Things for Hawaii

 Snorkel Gear

I know our trip isn't till the end of next month but we're so excited to go we started ordering shit online for our trip >.< lol!

I really haven't gotten anything for myself in quite a while so I did splurge quite a bit.. I kind of regret buying some of this stuff because I know after this trip I probably won't be using it again for quite a while.

Both Steve and I got this snorkel gear set on Amazon (my set cost $59.99 in US dollars and Steve's was $34.99 in US dollars) My set cost more because I need the life vest because I seriously can't swim and will die in the ocean -__-' 

We didn't want to rent the gear because we both know that we're gonna go in the water basically everyday that we're there plus I read that it can get quite expensive renting the gear but I'm not entirely sure about that. But at least we'll have gear like this ready for future trips :)

Set includes:

-Drawstring bag (good for keeping all the gear together, plus its a net bag so its easier to keep water out and sand)

-Goggles (although Steve had to exchange his because his goggles were shattered when they arrived.. lol) 

-Flippers (which are adjustable, I'm a size 6-6.5 in shoe size and I got the small fin set)

-Dry Snorkel

-Life Vest (inflatable so easy to pack!)

Haven't tested this set out yet. I'm going to go to my friends house to test it out in her pool hahaha.

 Macadamia Hair Mask

Last time I went to Hawaii and went into the ocean my hair got FUCKED. Its because of the salt water - dried my hair. Luckily, Ashley brought this hair mask last time but in a big tub and it was so awesome, my hair was so soft and moisturized afterward. So I ordered one from Amazon so I can bring it!

 Midi/Maxi Skirt

This skirt.. lol. I got this skirt from Aritzia and I'm pretty sure its supposed to be a midi skirt for normal sized people, but on me it works as a maxi skirt LOL. Its really flowy so it'll be great for our trip. The only problem I have is trying to match a top with this skirt but otherwise I can't wait to wear this for our trip!

 Fit and Flare T-shirt Dress

I got this dress from Urban Outfitters here in Vancouver (West Vancouver to be exact) for like $80+! I was like the hell! lol I wish our Canadian dollar wasn't so weak T_T

This dress is also light and flowy and the back has a cut out piece which isn't overly exposing but its a nice detail. I tried looking for a link for this dress but I guess its not available on the website?

*I'll add pics of me wearing these pieces a bit later, probably when I write a post about our trip.

Flowy dress!

I got this dress from Aritzia and I've actually been eyeing this dress for quite a while and was actually super lucky getting this in the store because it was the absolute last one! Plus! It was in my size! Although I think I might be a size small because its kind of loose in the belly area... I just noticed too that this dress is sold out online too so yay! it was meant to be!

Since its our 5 year anniversary coming up I wanted a nice but casual dress to wear for dinner. I donated tons of my old clothes that I don't wear anymore so I don't really have anything like this.

 Selfie Stick

Yep... lol. I was totally against these things for the longest time because they just look so stupid but then I used one of my friends and it actually takes nice pictures! I thought this would be nice for vacation photos and it was like $14 on Amazon or something and it has bluetooth!! So I don't have to set my photo timer every time I want to take a photo or multiple photos, especially if I take a bad photo and I don't have to wait 5-10 seconds every time I want to take a photo.

 Biore Sunscreen

I have a Kose sunscreen that I wanted to bring but I realized it isn't waterproof so I ordered this one since it is SPF 50+ and it is waterproof. Japanese Biore products are actually really great compared to the North American counterpart. Also, this one is quite milky and thin in comparison to other sunscreen lotions.

 Victoria's Secret Bikini

I got a new bikini for our trip! I also have the other bikini I previously wore to Hawaii that I'm also going to bring. This one just makes my boobs look better LOL.

That's all for now! I think I bought too much stuff for a 5 day trip lol but then again I haven't really bought myself anything in a long time.

December Update

This is basically going to be a few months worth of updates since I don't post as much anymore. Now that I'm on Christmas break I finally have the time to sit down and write a proper post :)

WARNING: long post ahead, no pictures LOL

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School

I'm almost done school! Its taken up the majority of my time, I only see Steve like once a week lol since I have no time to do anything. I'm going to school to become a medical lab assistant and the past two months. I've been super tired probably due to blood loss LOL. Its been tough but I'm contemplating whether I should go back to school for another program my school offers, but I guess I will wait and see.

Yesterday we had our final for microbiology which was almost cancelled because this random alarm went off lol but we ended up doing the written exam (it was a procedural final and a written final) we did do the procedural but it was quicker than normal because of the alarm.

I made some good friends from the class but I have a feeling I will lose touch of some of them super quick after we graduate. Two for sure I know I will try to keep my friendship with but others... who knows.

Just two more months of school and then I'm done! :)

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Family

Next week we go to Ashleys!! WOOO but I'm so broke, like really broke that I'm not even sure if I should go or not ahahahah, but if I get a job after I graduate I won't be able to see Ashley or her husband until.. who knows?

I have a feeling my dad feels sad because none of his daughters will be home for the holidays but its not like we ever celebrated christmas to begin with. 

My mom is getting crazier by the day and I have a feeling she actually has to kill someone with the car until she gets her license taken away or for her case to be taken seriously because her driving is fucking insane. I cringe every time I get in the car and watch her drive >.<

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Steve and his family

Oh boy... this one might be a long one lol

Let's see where to start, Steve's mom didn't get some work for a few weeks and in between that time I swear to god she went absolutely insane. She kept getting pissed off at Steve for not doing shit for her (like pay bills, buy groceries, get gas for her car) she got pissed off to the point where she would slam doors and freak the fuck out and he would get super pissed, then I would get pissed. 

I told him: "she's got no excuse not to do any of those things, you're (steve) working full time and she's not working right now and she's at home all the time. She has all the time in the world to do that shit, why is she making you do it? Not only that you have a sister who is a secretary who can do all of those things, why doesn't she ask her to do it, why does it always have to be you? She's not stupid as far as I know, just being lazy"

He was like yeah wtf, I guess he never looked at it from my point of view but he freaked out at her and said all the shit I said and she's backed off for a bit but I know its not going to last. The thing is he allows her to do all of that by enabling her, he'll do stuff to shut her up but it doesn't teach her any thing. It really makes me wonder what he will do in the future when he moves out and she has to do all that stuff for herself. She'll probably just bribe him with money to do it for her - that's my guess.

His sister started working as a executive secretary at a hotel in Vancouver. It makes me wonder how her work ethic is because when she's at home, she's super lazy, she doesn't want to do anything, she even gets his mom to drive her to and from the work place where she could bus easily there. Plus when she goes out drinking with her friends she gets their mom to pick her up all the way from downtown but when Steve needs a lift when he's been drinking he has to take a bus home because they both are too lazy to go pick him up.. wtf!

Steve's mom freaked out at Steve for playing video games and said to him "you don't give a shit about the family, all you care about is yourself" (because he plays video games LOL) and it made me wonder what role she thinks his sister is playing in the family. But she probably gets to get away with things like this because she's a girl and I know his mom likes to emphasize gender roles "you're my son you're supposed to do things for me" that bullshit.

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Got a few posts being edited so stay tuned for those! (Beauty and some makeup posts!)

December Updates

What an end to the entire year, this month was so relaxing, the beginning at least lol. Mainly because I had like a month off from school (no classes, exams finished early) and because Steve's mom went away for like a week (wish it was longer T_T) and you know what she did as soon as she came back? Asked Steve to do her school homework and school project while she just sat around and relaxed >.<

His mom seems to be extra clingy since she came back which is overly annoying, like having princess syndrome. She woke us up in the middle of the night to plug in the ipad right beside her bed -___-' like wtf. She also woke us up super early in the morning to tell Steve that the heat isn't coming on in her car (you gotta wait, stupid!) its overly stressful when she's at home. Its like when she left and came back she decided "hey I can get away with my son doing everything for me so I might as well take advantage of him and his girlfriend" Umm fuck you no, you know how to fucking pump gas into a car/buy grapes!!!!!!!!!! Man where is karma when you need it lol.

Cute but stupid

Speaking of stress, my stupid mom decided she can take care of two dogs at once because she's basically getting paid, but in reality, she sucks at taking care of people let alone animals. She's killed one dog before because she thought a puppy doesn't need a leash, so it got hit by a car. Her excuse? "it committed suicide" uh.. no. The dog pictured above has high anxiety issues when its left alone and is super people dependent. If there is nobody upstairs with him he will bark and howl until someone goes up there. SO ANNOYED! And on top of that we have a super nice tenant that I hope doesn't move out because of these stupid animals.

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Woo I got most of the classes I want this semester ^__^ so I'm pretty happy right now.. but I still have to buy books for the semester so that's gonna set me back quite a bit >.< poops lol. Class starts tomorrow for me and my sleep schedule has been super messed up lately >.< (sleeping super late and waking up late) its all thanks to Steve because we moved his computer from the living room into our bedroom and he likes to play games super late or watch anime -___-' lol.

Its food time!

 Lotus Root Soup

I did a lot of cooking this month, specifically soups and this one is my favorite :P so easy to make and tummy warming :P Chinese soups FTW!

 Steve's birthday dinner

I took Steve out for his birthday dinner when we went to go visit Ashley since I thought it would be hectic for us to do it when his birthday actually came around. We went to Black Bottle in Bellevue and it was so goooood.

Steve ordered a local beer and I ordered a cocktail that was really bitter and full of alcohol, I fell asleep as soon as we got home :P LOL

 

Water

 Fried Chicken

Ashley suggested these to us, they were good but I'm a fried chicken snob lol so obviously I wanted more. The sauce was a nice compliment to the chicken.

The food came out quick which was nice.

 Clams with chorizo

This came in a really nice broth. Generally I don't really like clams but I had this once and had to get it again, Steve ended up eating like all the clams -___-' I only had like 3 lol but he let me have most of the broth ^__^

Pork Belly and Kimchi

It wasn't as good as I thought it was, it was alright but I probably won't be ordering this again.

Fennel and Sausage Flat bread?

I thought that the flat bread was too much food and I was right lol, I had only two pieces and Steve ate the rest lol but it was good but we found a super hard piece of rock or something in it >.<

I didn't want this LOL

Steve ordered another dish, this one is vegetarian and its roasted eggplants, roasted red peppers, a nice mozzarella with some balsamic sauce. I ate a bit but that was it.

BEST THING EVER!

This is the best panna cotta ever! This is earl grey panna cotta O_O I would eat this everyday if I could. Steve liked it too and he generally doesn't like many desserts.

Christmas Dinner Setting

We were invited to a nice Christmas dinner at Ashley's Mother-in-law's husbands daughters house LOL ok that was a lot.. maybe this would be easier Ashley's husbands step sister? LOL I don't know but it was a very large dinner and there were many guests.

Ashley's on a diet so she didn't get a chance to eat the food they made but she kept asking us what some food tasted like lol.

SO MUCH FOOOD

The dinner was so great! Everything was delicious and I know a lot of hard work went into this dinner >.< Wish I brought something to contribute to this dinner.

My large dinner plate lol

Steve's Dinner plate

OMG the desserts!

Some of the stuff on this plate I've never had before like the marshmallow thing on the left, the white balls (didn't try those actually -__-') There was like a brittle thing, gingerbread and short cookies.

More Desserts!

This plate has fruit cake, sugar tarts and fruit tart? I have no idea LOL I didn't have much from this plate.

Steve's second birthday dinner

We went out for another birthday dinner for Steve on Boxing day with a couple of friends and of course we had a few drinks :)

Salmon Sashimi!

Miso Oden

I have a secret love for daikon radishes and I super love oden!! Should find myself a nice recipe :P

Meat Skewers

We got some Toro (pork belly?) and uhh.. I'm not actually sure what this other one is LOL but the toro is the best!

Quail eggs wrapped with bacon?

I don't think its bacon.. lol I think it was thin pork meat wrapped around it, but it was pretty good O_O

Ebi Mayo

Basically battered fried shrimp with a spicy mayonnaise lol but these are always good no matter where you go.

Chicken Karaage

Fried chicken! This was alright.. lol I love super crispy fried chicken and this wasn't crispy enough for me.. lol

I don't remember what this was

It was not worth it LOL. It all tasted the same to me, I mean it wasn't bad tasting but for something that is supposed to have variety it all just blended together and it seemed like you were eating the same thing.

Steak

It did not need butter LOL

Nature Republic Products! O_O

Steve's mom couldn't find the product I wanted so she got me these instead. $40 for 3 boxes at the duty free? Seriously next time I go to Korea I'm only going to shop at the duty free lol.

Hope you all had a good end of year celebration! Since school is starting I'm not sure how often I'll get to post something but I'll try my best to do a weekly post or something! 

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