★☆ One Step at a Time ☆★

[Currently listening to "Golden" by Late Night Alumni - this is one of my most favorite songs from LNA :) ]

Good morning again everyone - can you believe it's already almost the weekend? I can't -- and I have a full day off tomorrow, so I'm really excited :) Not sure what I'll do just yet, but I do know that I do need to get some things together for myself first before doing anything else.

Just wanted to put a quick entry before I go to work today. Mainly because it's been a busy and stressful past couple of days, and I miss writing to you all... xoxo

School is what's been bothering me in the last couple of days... At the moment, I'm considering paving a new path in my plans and finally pursue my dream major: culinary arts. And I think I will. I'll explain more with you all later on tonight - there's much more that I want to say, but there's so little time for me to do so...

I went with my good co-worker and friend Justin to see Step Up 3D last night - it was very, very good! Perhaps I didn't mention it in my previous blogs, but I do like dancing! I may not be very good at it, but certainly do enjoy watching dance routines. Movies like Step Up and watching shows such as America's Best Dance Crew actually do excite me, and I'm always looking forward to watching new dance routines. One day I might actually try it out, who knows... But anyway! Step Up rocked -- go see it if you haven't yet!

Another thing that helped me keep mind off of things was looking at one of the games that had been collecting dust on my shelf. I had bought Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time - remember I wrote about this in an older entry? Well, I finally got to take a look at it last night and it's actually a really cute and fun game. :) I'll have to find a little more time to try and play it when I'm free. That's what I enjoy the most when playing fantasy games - it takes you to a kind of faraway place where you can not be "you" for a while, and slip into the shoes of another. The downside of this is that sometimes we are tempted to get sucked into the game that we're unaware of how much time is spent while we're in fantasy mode. However, it is nice to somehow get away from it all just for a little while right? :)
These distractions helped me to keep my mind off things for a little while, but at the same time gave me time to find myself. Slowly but surely I think I'm getting there.

It's just like what the lyrics from Jordin Sparks' "One Step at at Time" say:

One step at a time, there's no need to rush
It's like learning to fly or falling in love
It's gonna happen and it's supposed to happen
That we find the reasons why one step at a time

Time for me to get ready for work guys, but I can't wait to write to you all again tonight. :)

Have a beautiful day and even if there are times when there are things that will make you frown, turn it upside down because, in the end... everything will be okay. It sounds corny, true, but you know it's true :)

You hold the key to your happiness...


Keep smiling,
Reiko xoxo

★☆ Cousin Doug's Wedding and Birthday Thoughts☆★

[Currently listening to "Your Love is My Drug" by Ke$ha - she's kinda my current music obsession at the moment :) ]

Good morning again everyone :)

I know, I did say that I was going to update last night, but I got an excuse ^-^;; Some of you guys may or may not know about this already, but I do go either to the pool or the gym after work on most days during my week. I love to stay physically active and looking forward going to the gym or the pool after a good shift at work is very motivating. But for something more exciting, I've been doing something in addition to my routine!

In the last week, Rich - one of my good guy buddies who's one of the cooks where I work - is teaching me boxing! He did professional boxing for quite some time, and I learned this when I was working out one night; he came in with a few guys who I see sometimes at work and they put on their gear and started knocking each other out, lol! I thought it looked pretty interesting and asked Rich about it. Soon enough, I started learning how to make the proper fighting stance, jabbing, perfecting my hook, and I'm now learning how to slip (making my body go down to dodge a punch). It's so aggressive, but it's so much fun too! I got a couple of my co-workers Dice and Jas to join too - the more the merrier, right?? :D

...but I think I pushed my limit last night, and sucker-punched myself right out x_X It was so much fun, so I guess it was worth it :)

So now that I probably bored you with my gym story, why don't we get on with some of the pics from my cousin's wedding? :)

Saturday, July 10th, 2010 in the city of Philadelphia was one of the most exciting days for me and my family. My elder cousin, Douglas, married his very cute and lovely wife Christina :) It was a very lovely wedding - Caribbean music played as the bridesmaids and groomsmen made their way to the altar, a song sung by Celine Dion played as the bride's march, a wonderful and motivating pastor led the way, and all followed with a fun wedding reception :) I've been waiting a couple of months to meet this wonderful Christina, and I finally got to meet her on this day - she's so pretty and fun, I'm so happy that Douglas found a wonderful woman like her and I'm praying for a loving, happy life together <3>

Here's me with my mom, dad and handsome brothers Jerome and Jonathan :)

My cousin JR with lil Elijah, the ring bearer - this little guy is so funny: when he approached the altar, he handed the rings over to Douglas and tried to run away, lol!

The cousins! We're from my dad's side of the family. From L to R: Bridget, Kimberly, Richard, my brother Jerome, JR, me, other brother Jonathan, and Ryan. :)

Doug and Christina cutting the cake - it's so gorgeous, I loved the colors!

My cousin Rich dancing with his really cute girlfriend Kristen :)

Just a few pictures for now to show you guys - I've yet to upload the pictures on my Facebook, so I will post a link on my Twitter and in a later edit tonight :) It was my very first time at a wedding, especially at a family wedding, and I will never ever forget it :)

Time for me to get ready for work, guys... I wish I can write to you a little bit more, but look out for an update later on tonight and you guys can always follow me on Twitter too :)

Before I go though, just wanted to say that I just placed in an order for something I wanted to get myself as an early birthday present: DSKJewelry's Strawberry Lemonade necklace :) Isn't it gorgeous? I absolutely love the colors - their warm colors are just so sweet, summery and... I guess you can also say, yummy :)

Speaking of which, DSKJewelry's Model Contest ends this coming Sunday, August 15th - cast your votes now if you haven't! :) You can vote at: dskmodel.tumblr.com (best viewed either in Mozilla or Safari because it's being weird in Internet Explorer).

Have a wonderful day everyone, and I'll check back with you all later on tonight -- promise!! xoxo

Much love,
Reiko

Edit!!
The pictures are now uploaded on my Facebook - visit here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019471&id=65300438&l=955e740e50

Enjoy the pictures! :D

★☆ Early Morning Chat with Reiko ☆★

[Currently listening to Best of KAT-TUN - yes, I'm a JE fan too! :D ]

Good morning everyone :) It's now 5:11am, and I've been up for nearly half an hour. I'm not entirely sure why I got up at this time, but I'm feeling wide awake writing to you all, lol! It certainly has been a while.

Since I'm up, I wanted to share with you guys my weekend - it did have it's ups and downs, but I learned a lot in just 2 days...

There are a lot of things going on at work that it's gotten me so busy in recent weeks - if you're new to reading my blog, I'm a bartender in a retirement home - it will seem bizarre to you, I know, but as I've said time and time again, I love my job! :) I've been working full-time hours now and I'm enjoying that, but at the same time it's physically exhausting. (Imagine running around serving food where you have to wear long sleeves with little air conditioning for about 8 hours - ooh, yeah, that's me! >_< ) I like to have a break every now and then, and to my surprise I was given a weekend - Saturday and Sunday - off! It's a very rare opportunity for me, so I figured it's time I took it to fully enjoy it :)

[Saturday]
I met with @SleeplessFish, aka Taylor , my beloved boyfriend (of 2 years now) after he got off work. We did have a rocky start over something that was small and stupid, but we eventually came around and had a good time. He showed me around the church where he works - it certainly is a beautiful place, and it's big too! :) I just wished I had taken some pictures to show you guys, but I guess I will have to do that the next time I visit there :) We headed over to my best friend, Nicki's, house for a party :) Our college friend, Jeincy, is moving to Washington state soon to work there for a year, so we had a party to celebrate her new job! It was an absolutely fun fun night - I got to see a lot of cool people whom I haven't seen in so long!

This is Jeincy! I met her in her freshman year in college, my sophomore year. She's one of the sweetest girls ever!

This is me with @babyroach, aka Nicki, my best friend of 17 years next month - I met her while we were in religion classes and altar serving at our old parish, and we went to the same middle school, high school, and even college! I'm convinced God brought us together for a reason - I'm so thankful to have her in my life!

...oh, right, I haven't posted a picture of Tay and me together yet, right? :D As proof that we were at the party together, lol!

It was too bad that I had to leave the party early, but I stuck around for Jeincy's cake cutting :) It was such a cute and delicious cake!

I had to take a picture of this before I left, but it's one of the yummiest things I've ever tried: it's a can of whipped cream... with alcohol in it. I kid you not - it's flavored with amaretto, and is 36 proof/18% alcohol! I'll have to get me one of these if I ever have a party or something. Have any of you guys ever tried this or seen this before? It was my very first time seeing this on this night and it was so yummy :) I'm curious to see if it comes in other flavors!

[Sunday]

I never thought I'd have a day where I could sleep in and just be lazy for a morning until yesterday - I had gotten up a couple of times to get onto the computer to see what was going on in the world, but shortly after that, I decided to have what I call a "power nap" - I wanted to really re-charge my batteries and I didn't get up again until around 1pm! It was a wonderful feeling :)

I didn't take many pictures yesterday, but I met with Tay again after he got off work at the church in the afternoon. In case you guys were wondering about his job, for right now he's a weekend sexton at his parish until the original sexton, currently stuck in Japan, comes back. ^-^; We had a huge dinner at The Silver Diner - we split a peppermint milkshake; I had a small Ceasar salad and had the Shrimp Scampi with gluten-free penne pasta, which was actually pretty yummy! Tay had a small summer salad with his Grilled Wasabi Salmon Sliders - his was very yummy too :D We topped it off with a slice of the Chocolate Cream Pie :) We were so full, but it was very well deserved meal!

Don't ask me why, but yes, I'm a very silly person when I'm eating out :p

We finished off the day with watching "The Other Guys" - it's one of the funniest movies I've seen this summer, especially with Will Farrell in it :) If you guys haven't seen it yet, I recommend it if you really like really ridiculously funny movies :) I still want to see Charlie St. Cloud and Salt too, and even Step-Up 3D since it just came out in theaters :)

Overall I had such a good weekend! I'm fully relaxed and recharged. I will have to go into a full day at work later on today, but I'll be ready for it when I get in :)

If there were a couple of things that I learned this weekend, it'd be these:

1. Looking back at my pictures from this past weekend made me realize that I should appreciate and embrace each moment more and more, like they were the last moments of my life. I may not see these people or do these activities very often, but I need to enjoy them to the fullest. After all, you only live life once, and you need to cherish and embrace each moment with all your heart.

2. In addition to that, remember I mentioned that Tay and I had a rough start when we first saw each other on Saturday? We love each other very much, but our love is not perfect - we fight, sometimes, mostly over the smallest and ridiculous things. It's normal in any relationship, and in most cases, good because each of us gets to see a side of each other that we may not know about each other; we have our differences, but these can be worked out somehow. Tay and I have our differences too, but we work them out together. I guess that's why he and I have gotten so close, and I'm thankful for that.

So a little message from me if you are lucky to be in a loving relationship or even if you're still waiting for that special person: Love him or her with your mind, heart, and soul. If this is the one that you want, don't let him or her slip away - embrace him or her with all your might.

Immature love says, "I love you because I need you."
Mature love says, "I need you because I love you."

I'm not sure where I learned this from, but I do know that is is true. :)

All right, time to get ready for the day...

...and I just realized that I didn't put up my pics from my cousin's wedding as I promised... I do promise, though, that I will do that tonight :)

Lastly, a pic that I took yesterday that I hope will make you smile too - featuring DSK Jewelry's Rocker Pink Necklace and Heart Love bracelet :) Makes me feel so pretty in pink xoxo

Have a beautiful day everyone :) See you tonight!

With love,
Reiko xoxo

★☆DSKJewelry Model Search 2010!! ★☆

[Currently listening to "I Like It" - Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull; Enrique Iglesia's new album "Euphoria" :) - check out this sexy Spanish man on iTunes now! xoxo ]

Hello everyone! I'm glad to be back - I've been away on a 5-day vacation (well, actually 4 since I had to come back a day early), but I'm so happy to be back on a computer and write to you guys again. I tell you, it's been too long!

I'll tell you guys about my vacation in a separate post, but before I get to that, I just wanna say:
1. Yay, Spain!! Congratulations for winning the World Cup!!
2. ...I gotta say, Enrique is pretty sexy. :) ...just saying! xoxo

...anyway, guys. ^-^;;

It has been a while since my last post, and I've been meaning to put up this post for a while, but I just wanted to let you all know that I just entered DSKJewelry's Model Search contest!! I just sent my entry form not too long ago. I've never entered in something like this before, but I'm hoping I'll make it!! :D ★☆★☆

I wanted to share with you guys in this entry my DSKJewelry pieces as well as my entry form and pictures that I turned in so you guys have an idea of what DSKJewelry is about. :)

Fellow blogger Stephanie of Seattle is the girl who designs and creates her beautiful pieces, including earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Her most known pieces are the Bubbi Necklaces (inspired from YouTube make-up guru, Bubzbeauty - whom I'm also a fan of!) and Everything bracelets: bracelets that have many many combinations in beads, Swarovski crystals, and chains that no two everything bracelets are the same; each one has its own unique name and design and it's really neat how special these pieces are!

If you are interested in her jewelry, I highly encourage you to visit her site: dskjewelry.blogspot.com

Here are the pieces of DSKJewelry that I currently own:

The first pair of earrings that I bought when I first visited DSKJewelry's site was this: the AB Star threads. I never wore thread earrings until this pair and it's by far my favorite pair of earrings out of all the earrings I own! The threads are 3 inches long, and are lightweight and comfortable to wear. The cute little stars remind me of the stars in the sky; believe it or not, I actually do wish upon the first star that I see at night and yes, I do believe that one day my dreams will surely come true. When I first bought these earrings, the stars really do remind me that I've got to hold on to my wishes and dreams and with hard work (and perhaps some luck too), one day they will come true. :)

This is the first necklace that I bought: the Large Golden Moon and Dark Teal Starfish. It was one of the simplest, yet beautiful pieces I saw when I first came to the site and I wanted soooo bad; I waited 2 weeks until my paycheck came in so I could buy it! I really liked the golden moon because it reminds me of nights when I would see the golden harvest moon in the night sky - every time I see it, there's just something so mysterious about it that I can't just look away. The cute teal starfish really compliments the golden moon nicely, and when I first saw these two together, it reminded me of a phrase that I saw on one of my friends' Myspace profiles: "Be the moon and pull in my tide." It also reminded not just of the representation of the stars (like the one for my earrings) but also of my boyfriend Taylor who loves the beach and the oceans. All in all, the necklace represents me and Taylor - I just had to get it, and I love it!

These are the 5" Rose Flower thread earrings; these are by far, the longest earring pieces I've ever owned, but they are so cute! I bought this in the early spring because I love the size, shape and color of the rose-colored flower - just like the cherry blossoms, no? :) Not only did they remind me of cherry blossoms but they also represent my love for flowers in general as well as the color pink to represent my feminine side. I don't mind that the threads are this long. In fact, when I'm wearing them, they're so lightweight that sometimes I don't really notice that they are really there!

And finally, my most recent piece: Rocker Pink! This is one of my favorite necklaces, mainly because I really like the combination of the single heart and a wing alongside it - it's simply really cool! Taylor really likes this piece too (which, of course, makes me happy :D ). When I saw the preview for the Rocker necklaces, I thought, "...wow, that's actually really neat!" It reminded me of a phrase that I came up with 2 years ago when I was really down: "You can try to rip off my wings... but no matter what you do, I'm still gonna fly." I bought the pretty heart in pink, again to represent my feminine side, and the combination with the silver wing makes just...awesome. I don't truly know how else to describe it other than to say that I love this piece!


So here they are: my 4 beautiful DSKJewelry pieces! I hope to collect more, maybe a bracelet because I've yet to own one!

This year, Stephanie is hosting a Model contest, a girl (or guy) to represent her jewelry in the DSK family, and I'm hoping to be one of them! Again, I've never entered a contest like this before, but it's about time I got out of my shell and give this my best shot! I want to thank Taylor for helping take pictures of me for the contest - without him, I wouldn't have gotten the pictures that he took (all of which I loved!). I submitted 5 of them, though I would have turned all of them to Stephanie. The voting begins on Friday - I'm very excited for this!!

And now, here's my entry form with 2 paragraphs explaining who I am and why I want to represent DSKJewelry; there's also the 26 question survey - I had fun with these! :D

Hello Team DSK! My name is Jennifer, but many know me as Jenni or Reiko; Jenni shortened from my first name and Reiko from my days of studying Japanese language in my high school and college. I’m 22 years old, and I’m working to finish my undergraduate degree in Business Administration. I’m pursuing my dream in the culinary field; my biggest passion since I was a child has always been food – I love food, as well as making new dishes and eating my work! One day I would love to either manage my own café or restaurant, or move up to become an executive chef. Until then, I have a blog that I try to update often, and I plan on opening a separate blog dedicated to my recipes and other food finds. Meanwhile, I work as a part-time bartender in a retirement home – I know it may sound pretty bizarre making drinks for the elderly, but I love my job! I live with my Filipino family: my parents and two younger brothers, both who have autism. I love adventures and playing sports (tennis and volleyball mostly), but to unwind I love to read, knit, play video games or chat with new friends online… Oh, let’s not forget blogging! I’ve become fond of traveling recently and would love the travel the world someday… I’m a simple girl, living my life by having fun and with a smile on my face. Visit my blog at xsimplyreikox.blogspot.com!

I learned about DSKJewelry in the beginning of this year through YouTuber Lindi from Bubzbeauty – I watched one of her videos talking about her DSKJewelry necklace and I thought, “…wow, that’s a really pretty necklace she’s wearing, but where can I get something like that?” That’s when I visited the website, learned about Stephanie and her works and the next thing I knew… I bought (thus far) 4 pieces of jewelry! The moment I opened my first package, I was very happy and surprised to see how beautiful my necklace and earrings were when they sparkled in the light! I wear my jewelry during my days off from work, and I’ve received a lot of compliments from my friends and family members. (I even got compliments when I window-shopped in a Swarovski shop recently!) Since buying my first pieces, I’ve told my friends about DSKJewelry, and I keep an eye out for new pieces that I would love to own. Recently I came to realize a new philosophy: I believe that each person, like each piece of jewelry, is made unique and original but never a copy. Stephanie’s talent and artistry in her jewelry really represents that and from that came success. Her successes have inspired me to pursue my own dreams and make them come true. This is what DSKJewelry means to me and I want to represent myself as a Model to inspire others to succeed, that they are beautiful and unique and to also check out and support her jewelry.

Now that I’ve given you bits and pieces of who I am, here are some questions that I’ve answered to get to know me a little bit better!

a. What's your name? Nickname?

My name is Jennifer, but many call me Jenni or Reiko

b. How old are you?

I’m 22 years young!

c. When's your birthday?

August 23^rd

d. How tall are you?

5’5”

e. What is your career? If you're a student, what is your major?

I’m finishing up my undergraduate degree for Business Administration. I’m also working part-time as a bartender in a retirement home. (It seems pretty bizarre, but I love my job!)

f. Are you single? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Married? Children? It's Complicated?

I’m currently in a relationship with my best friend, Taylor – it will be 2 years on July 29^th

g. Where are you from? Birth place? Current location?

I was born in Norfolk, Virginia and now living in Virginia Beach, Virginia

h. Do have siblings?

I have 2 younger brothers, 20 and 17, who have autism

i. What's your ethnicity?

My family is from the Philippines but there’s a possibility of having a bit of Chinese in my background too!

j. What's your favorite food?

Oh gosh… You had to ask, haha! If I had to choose one favorite food, it would have to be mangoes!

k. What are 5 words that describe you? Be Creative!

Loving, Creative, Adventurous, Motivated… and Hungry!

l. What would the title of your autobiography be?

“Breaking Free”

m. What would you do if a vending machine stole your money?

Try to get that snack out, even if it means kicking it or getting a friend to help you out! You know what they say – if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again!

n. Do you have a tattoo? If so, where?! If no, would you get a tattoo?

Currently no tattoos, but I’ve dreamed of having a tribal dragon design on my torso

o. How many piercings do you have?

One piercing on each ear, and a belly ring :D

p. What your favorite feature? What's your least favorite?

Favorite feature would have to be my smile since I love to smile and laugh! Least favorite feature… maybe my calves – from running around so much, lol!

q. How many languages can you speak, and which ones?

I can speak 2 languages, English and Japanese, fluently; I am working on Spanish and Tagalog right now!

r. What's your zodiac sign?

Born under the Chinese zodiac for the Rabbit, and am a cusp between Leo and Virgo – I think I’m more of a Virgo than anything else!

s. What's your dream job?

My dream job would either be to become an executive chef for a well-known restaurant or open up my own restaurant or café

t. What's your favorite thing to do on the weekends?

Gosh, I have so many favorite things, but to give a short list: shopping, going out to eat, checking out new sites, going to the beach, watching movies and sunsets.

u. Do you have any phobias?

I have a fear of being forgotten… I dunno why, but I can’t help having that feeling, you know? :o

v. What's your favorite pick up line?

I honestly don’t have one; I’ve never had to use one… ^^;

w. What's your ring tone?

No current ring tone at the moment, but when I get my new phone, I’ll program it to play “Niji” by Aqua Timez

x. What's your favorite song?

My favorite song changes everyday, but for a while now it’s “Niji” by Aqua Timez

y. What makes you laugh?

I laugh when I’m happy, when something funny happens, or just for no reason What can I say? I love to smile and laugh!

z. I can't wait till: ________(Fill in the blank) :D

…the day(s) when all my dreams come true!

And that's that!! I'm going to also submit a video that I am hoping to have posted on my YouTube channel tomorrow morning so please keep an eye out for it :) Don't forget to vote on Friday, the 16th!!

Until then, representing for DSKJewelry!!

Much love, xoxo Reiko

♠ Launching New Blog Soon :) ♠

[Listening to disc 3 of Fruits Basket anime at the moment :) ]

Hey, everyone :) I hope you're having a good day so far - I know I am :)

Remember Taylor? :D He turns 24 today :) Yay!!

Just thought I'd put a funny picture of him for starters ^-^;; (Tay, if you're reading this... xoxo!)

Sadly, he and I are working today, but we will celebrate tomorrow since he has half the day off and I'm off all day :D We plan on having an early dinner, go see Last Airbender, just have ourselves a good day :)

But can you guys believe we're already 7 months into the year? Like... Where has all that time gone, you know?? I don't know about you guys, but through the good days AND the bad, I'm enjoying each day to the fullest and I'm learning a lot along the way. I hope you all are doing the same. :)

I've decided that for my future entries for my recipes, I'm going to create a separate blog, and keep this blog for random happenings of my everyday life :) I think that's a pretty good idea so that I can keep them organized better, so in the next few days I'll let you guys know when I launch the blog site. :)

Again, I'm crunching on time, but I thought I'd write to you guys for a little bit; not to mention that this laptop that I'm writing to you all with is the only working computer in the house - the computer that I currently have in my room has something wrong with it (I think some spyware worked it's way into the computer and now I can no longer browse the Internet...). I will only have limited time and access to you all here but I will update when I can :)

Until next post, you all have a great day! :D And to celebrate Taylor's birthday, and his love for ocean things, here's a picture of me when we went to the aquarium in May:

With love,

~Reiko xoxo

♠ Court Update and Some Sweet Things :) ♠

[I figured out the name of the song! It's 3OH!3 feat. Ke$ha's "My First Kiss" - playing that now! :D ]

Good morning everyone! :D I meant to update yesterday, but had a lot going on :)

...I'm guessing you all wanted to know how the court thing went?

Well... I'm sad to report that there was actually no hearing yesterday :( Dad and I were at the courthouse for quite some time to learn later that the lady who hit me had a no-show. Her lawyer kept apologizing to me for having to wait so long and that the case will be rescheduled for August 26th. Needless to say, I was rather disappointed because I had been looking forward to this day for a long time and wanted to have all this behind me when it was over... Now it's going to be a couple more months of waiting... So until then... :(

I wasn't going to let this get me down, so I had some time yesterday to take some pictures with Taylor at the beach :) The real reason for the picture taking, though, is for the contest that I am entering - the DSK Jewelry model search! I will making a post in the next day or two talking about the jewelry, what it's all about, and even show you guys pictures of my pieces :) I look forward to showing them off to you all!

Until then, here is a preview of the pictures that were taken yesterday :)

Taylor and I; it's one of my favorite pictures of us :)

Enjoying the sun at the beach :)

Sitting pretty :)

Reiko for DSKJewelry! :D

Look out for the new blog entry that I'll post soon about DSKJewelry, okay guys? :D

I'll also be able to post new entries for my food recipes :) I know it has been a while since I posted something for all of you, but please be patient, as my schedule oftentimes keeps me very very busy :) And now that I also have a brand new camera, I can add pictures to show you guys step by step how I make my food :D I can't wait!!

Time for me to get ready for work, but I will be back soon :) Until then, have a wonderful day!!

...oh, did I forget to mention that today marks me and Taylor together for 1 year and 11 months? :D

And one last thing...

Think of you, babiiiii xoxo ♥

With love,
~Reiko xoxo

♠ Slowly Counting Down... ♠

[Currently eating dinner - Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich and a large sweet tea to be exact!!]

Hey, all you cool cats! :D I hope you all had a very good weekend - I sure did :)

Again, I'm crunching on time, and it's late at night... Since I'm in the dining room with my laptop - and with that being the only working computer in the house for now... - I can't play any music since my dad and brothers are trying to sleep... Don't want me to get in trouble do you? ;) Just so you know though, you know that new song from 3OH!3, featuring Ke$ha, the one that has the lyrics going, "My first kiss went a little like this"? It's been on my mind for a while... Pretty catchy. Just saying! XD

Also, I do have pictures, but I will have to wait to post them until tomorrow. So we'll save those and the rest of the most recent news until then. :)

...anyways!

Wanted to let you guys know that the court day is set for tomorrow morning. I have mentioned that this will be my very first time participating in a court session (I'm testifying as a witness), so I'm excited, but at the same time, a little anxious as to how this will all play out. Well, I really shouldn't be so nervous since I am not the one at fault for the car accident back in March, but I guess I just want to see how everything plays out in the very end. My dad will be in the courtroom with me, so at least I'm not going there alone with my lawyer and the other participants.This day has been on my mind since I received the subpeona 2 weeks ago, and now the months of waiting will come to a close... I will update you guys with the results when I return. Wish us luck! :)

Other than that, I'm doing well! It really is summer time, and it's not just from the ridiculous heat that has come to my hometown! Today it reached as high as 102 degrees, or so it said on the odometer on my way to work this afternoon. The notice on the doors said that it is a black flag day and that outdoor activities are to be suspended. I don't really know about that though: even though the black flag warning has been posted all around the building, some of the residents at the retirement still go outside; I don't know how these people do it, but there is a small group who absolutely love the game of croquet - I think they've been outside for an hour or so, with the sun not bothering them at all! (I think they must be real die-hard players to be playing in those conditions...!)

Anyway, when it gets really hot wherever you may be, make sure to keep yourself cool - stay inside if you must, and be sure to drink LOTS of water! I don't want to hear any of my readers say that they're not doing well because they're not keeping cool! T_T Play it safe!!

All right, until tomorrow, everyone, have a good day/night wherever you may be! :)

Lots of love,
~Reiko xoxo

♠ Reiko's Back - About Damn Time :)v ♠

[Currently having some breakfast with her little brother, Jerome :) No music involved, but has Owl City's "Strawberry Avalanche" playing in her head :)]

My goodness, it really has been a while everyone - sorry for the delays again >_<

I'm crunching on time at the moment, so for now, I just want to bring you guys up to speed to what has been happening with me in recent days:

How's Reiko? Overall, feeling great and just going about my busy days loving each day to the fullest, even on the toughest days :) Due to some personal issues that I have experienced recently (which I can't explain to you guys here, I'm sorry... :( ) in many ways, I feel that I have matured from it all, and I'm taking the baby steps to becoming an even better person than I was a few weeks ago. One day I will be able to tell you all, but for right now, rest assured, I'm doing well, and I'm loving life! :)

Family: In about 2 weeks' time, my family and I will be venturing up north for my cousin Douglas and his fiancee' Christina's wedding. :) Douglas is one of my cousins that I've admired since I was a kid, and now I'm very happy that he is very happy to start his new life with his soon-to-be wife, who will also become a wonderful addition to my family :) I'll be gone for about 5 days to venture up to New Jersey to see my extended family, and then to Pennsylvania where the wedding will take place. I'm very excited not just for the wedding, but for the trip itself. It's been a while since my family and I had a vacation together, and this will be a real treat. I haven't been to New Jersey since seeing my relatives to embark on a flight to the Philippines together 5 summers ago, and I've never been to Pennsylvania before - I'm really looking forward to the adventures to come :)

Work: I'm loving and appreciating my work as a bartender/waitstaff in that retirement home more and more by the day :) I know some of you guys are wondering how on earth I'm able to cope working in a place like this, and I can simply tell you that it takes a lot of love and patience. There are times when it gets busy and difficult, but I know that in the very end, everything will fall into place and will be all right. I like being with people (especially talking to them) and I get along fairly well with the people I work with and work for. Love and patience are the keys, my friends! :)

Friends: Unfortunately, due to my very busy schedule, I only have very little time to see and/or chat with my friends in real life or even online (Facebook, Myspace, etc.). I was able to see a couple of good friends in recent weeks - Kai and Eleni - which is a good start, but when I have time to hang out, or even have an online chat with you, etc. , I will let you guys know :) I may not be able to say this to each of you individually so I'll say it here: I love you all and thank you for being a part of my life :) xoxo

Love life? Taylor and I are doing very well :) I feel that he and I have gotten much closer since the last time I posted, and that makes me feel very good. Tay is a really important person in my life, and I'm very grateful for everything he does and even just being there for me. He's been by my side even through the most recent slumps - I don't think he realizes how much I appreciate his love and loyalty to me... But anyway, we are doing very well, and we'll be celebrating our anniversary (1 year, 11 months) in a few days, as well as his birthday... which is a week from today! Whoo! xoxo

Car accident update: Remember the car accident I had back in March? Well, the case will come to a close in the next few days: On Monday, I will be appearing in court to testify as a witness in the case against the woman who hit me and my car, Rinoa. I have been looking forward to this day for a while - this will be my very first time testifying as a witness in court. As I said before in my post-accident post, I have forgiven the woman since that night, and I still do to this very day. I'm not sure what the outcome will be for the other woman, but I do hope that from whatever punishments and/or fines that will fall upon her, she will learn from that so that she won't have to experience that ever again. After this, my family and I will be truly ready to move forward from this, and I pray that she will too.

So yes! That's the gist of what's been going on with my lately, but I do want to announce one other thing... As of yesterday, I now have a brand-new digital camera!

This is the model of the digital camera that I now have: Samsung T220 digital camera, 12.2 megapixels and dual LCD screens. I'm loving this camera the more I use it :) ...should I come up with a name for it? :D What do you guys think?? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

And of course, I wouldn't end this post without showing you guys a few pictures from my new camera eh?? :D I had to compress them in order for them to fit here, so if they appear small for you guys, I apologize - I will have to work on them later :(

My handsome boyfriend, Taylor :) He made dinner! ^0^

A very interesting mug that held some tea he brewed for me :)

Dinner! Little steak and vodka pasta! We had a huge helping of seconds after that :)

My brother, Jerome finishing breakfast... and trying to be cute. :p

...and there's yours truly! :)

And there you have it guys! Now that I have a new camera, I'm looking forward to posting more for you guys. I'll update when I can, but I'll definitely chat with you all soon. Have a great day!!

xoxo,

~Reiko :)

Can't Introduce Squall Just Yet... :(

[Listening to "I'mma Be" by the awesome Black Eyed Peas! :D ]

Hey, everyone, it's about 11:30pm, and in about half an hour I will be working on my last Art History homework for the semester. I know, I hate having to do things at the last minute, but... What can I say? Lots of things to do... ^^; I will be up for a while, but I'm not gonna stop until it's done :) No, not an all nighter this time - I hope it won't end up being that way!

...shame on me, what did I say I was going to do for my Resolution(s)...? ^^;

Yesterday, I was supposed to take pictures and tell you guys about my wonderful new Rav4, Squall. Well, unfortunately, my digital camera has been giving me problems since yesterday morning: for some reason, it's malfunctioning even though I haven't done much to it in the last few days... Yes, I've changed the batteries, and yes, I've made sure that they were put in correctly... It's frustrating... :( I may have to invest on getting a digital camera that *will* work for me... That probably won't happen until around summertime because guess how broke Reiko really is... I hope to take a look at the camera and get it fixed soon so that I can show you guys some cool vids and pics of Squall. I will say, though, that I'm in love with it... even if it is a car ^^;

In the meantime, I want to tell you guys a few highlights of what's been going on with me in the last couple of days:

So, my college besties, Stephanie and Nicki, came home for a short break before starting their May Term (Good luck, girls!). I spent some time catching up with them on Thursday night when they came home, but I had more time to spend with them during my day off from work yesterday. We went to California Pizza Place for a late lunch, then went to my favorite gelato shop, Melt (soon to become "Confetti" about a week or so from now). After parting ways for a little while so that Nicki could finish up some homework, Taylor met with me and we hung out at Barnes and Noble for a little bit.

Guess what caught my eye when we reached the comic book section...

Yes, it's Yoshitaka Amano's Final Fantasy "Dawn" artbook. :D Now, for those who don't know, I'm a big Final Fantasy fan, and every FF fan would know one of the artists behind the concept art of the popular series. Amano is not only famous for his art for FF but also in other works such as Vampire Hunter D, another series that I'm a big fan of. What I really love about his work is that it is very beautiful and magical, almost as though the characters and creatures, though in 2-dimensional traditional art, could pop out of the page and come to life. As a fan of his work, I had to get this artbook. :)

This is one of my favorite images in the book - it's Firion, the main character from Final Fantasy II. :)

Anyhow, we were able to hang out, watch ourselves be silly and... just have a great time! Being with my friends yesterday made me realize how much I really love and miss them; I've been working a lot and doing a lot of things myself and with my boyfriend that it made me realize how much I really do love and appreciate people like them in my life. Even when I have my cloudy, gloomy days, I know that these guys and girls would always be there to bring back the sunshine! Much love!!

Another thing I want to share with you guys is that I'm getting into a physically better shape since the accident. I've continued to work out in the gym on the days that I do work, but tonight I started doing some abdominal exercises that I've been wanting to try in the last week.

While I exercised one night, I watched a couple of my co-workers as they did some ab-work; they followed along to a DVD series for physical workouts and this particular one caught my interest. I used to do ab-work a lot during my days in my high school's varsity tennis team; my coach trained us hard doing ab-work, pilates, etc. that by the time I finished my time with the team, I had some nice abs! I wanted to gain that back, and tonight, I started doing it.

I found the workout videos online via YouTube and I'd like to share them with you all in case you want to try this out. If you do decide to work out with these videos, exercise with caution and care - results come in small increments and large amounts of effort!
Here is part 1:


And part 2:


Trust me, after doing these exercises... I feel it in there! o_O Sexy abs, here I come! :Dv

...and I will admit: the guy in the video kind scares me with the way he talks to you while he's exercising... It's scares to where is actually pretty funny that it's scaring me and I end up laughing. ...but what else can I do? =/ Just saying... ^^;

All right, well it's about time I start tackling this Art History homework eh?! Better get a'movin' so I'll chat with you all soon!

Until next time, be well! I hope to get my camera fixed soon too!

xoxo,
Reiko

I'm Back (Quick Updates!)

[Currently listening to Ke$ha's "Your Love Is My Drug" - it's been on my mind since seeing the movie "Bounty Hunter"!!]

Hello everyone, I'm sooooo glad to be back! I'm sorry for those who have been sending me e-mails and whatnot asking where I've been. Not to worry, I'm coming back, refreshed, renewed and... feeling awesome, basically!

It has been a really rough month since my car accident last month, but with the help of my family, friends, co-workers and friends all over the net, I feel as though I'm back to where I was before the car accident occured. :) Rinoa, my first car, may be gone, but I'll never forget her. I know it may seem a bit fickle since she is a car, but what can I say? She was special to me. Even though she may be gone, I now have a new car that I can also say is very important to me now.

...you guessed it, it's name is Squall. :D I don't have photos of Squall just yet, but I will later on. He's a *brand new* 2010 Toyota Rav4, made in Japan! I love him so much! Oh, you know what you guys, I'll make a blog tomorrow for you guys introducing my handsome car :)

I'm still working at the retirement home, the place I love! I'm realizing each day that I work there how much I really love working there; my co-workers are awesome, I love being with the residents each day to talk to them as well as serve them food and drink, and... well, I love what I do as a bartender/waitress! I'm actually going to get ready soon, but I wanted to give you all a quick update about how I'm doing and that... I'll be coming back on here, full swing!

You guessed it, new blogs, new recipes, new patterns, etc! Thanks for sticking with me on this awesome journey - I promise I won't let you all down!

One more thing that I want to say to you all before I log off for now:

I have had a lot of things happen in the last month since the accident, and I've been taking things in a little bit at a time. Even through the darkest of times, there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel and when a door closes, somewhere out there another door is opening. You've probably heard these kinds of things at one point or another, but these are true. Take in each moment and be happy that you are alive and living. Whether you're having good days or bad, cherish each moment, and live your life with no regrets. In the last month, I decided to live my life thinking this way, and I've been feeling much better since then :)

Much love to you all, and I'll check back with you later!

Blurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!












~Reiko xoxo