The Lady in Japan, the Man in LA

So the positions have swapped, the Lady was in Japan for a week, the Man stayed home. Sorry for the late post, it's hard adjusting and getting back into the norm after being away for a week. Plus there are a ton of images that I have to upload, picking the best ones.

The plane ride was long but I expected it to be long I guess. Flying ANA was nice, the service, food, seating was all very good. It's just so damn long. Flying redeye, I thought I would be able to just sleep the whole way through, but that was not the case. Woke up about 5-6 hours in, just to realize we still had about 6 hours left.

Boy, I was glad to land in Osaka at 8am finally after having a stop over in Haneda, Tokyo, It's nice to be back in familiar grounds. My aunt and uncle came to pick me up in their new car and we drove back to their place. I love the smell of my aunt's house for some reason. That first whiff of smell you get as you enter her place brought back a flood of memories. Something about certain smells that trigger so much in your memory. I love it.

After washing up and getting settled, off to lunch!

(Sandaya, where we had lunch after my arrival)

(My dear old grandpa, he's the sweetest. Started crying when he saw me. This
is the appetizer ham and sliced onion salad)

(My sweet family, everyone looks well, grandpa's a bit teary)

(Oh the love of my life, love this woman so much. I was so happy to see her)

(Feast!)

(Yummy steak on a sizzling plate)

(On the way to lunch, I luckily caught some sakura sightings)

(Beautiful sakura cherry blossoms)

Back in LA.......

The Man had started to rip down the ceiling in the entrance and begin putting in more lights and drywall it....Apparently, the house was a great bloody mess. Thank goodness I wasn't there, because as the Man said, I probably would've had a heart attack.

(That's a lot of plaster rubble)

(Blocking off the way to the living room)

(New recessed lighting is in!)

(More recessed lighting and hot wires for the surface mounted light fixtures we
haven't picked out yet)

Busy busy!

The Lady

The Love of My Life

Lady here, I'm back from Japan.

It was tough coming home from Japan and it's always a culture shock to come back to the States after being in Japan. It's honestly kind of depressing and always leaves me sad and down for a few days. I love being in Japan, and because it's like my second home, it is heartbreaking to leave. Part of me never wants to leave.

Being down and sad about coming back to good ol' LA, a glimpse of happiness lies in the fact that my dear 84 year old grandma came home with me. Yes, I love this lady. She is my heart, my love, my second mother, the kindest, most caring, forgiving, honest, strong and understanding person that ever walked this earth. No words can describe what this woman means to me and my family. I am just overjoyed that she is in my life and decided (and was able) to come home to LA with me this time around.

Being in LA, so far away from Japan and my family members, I often forget how much I love my family and how important they are. I am so grateful, so so grateful that I am reminded during opportunities like this, of what special people I have in my life and the time we get to spend together. I am thankful for trips to Japan that make me humble and remind me of the simple, true things in life that really matter. Family.


Humble and grateful,
The Lady

Something's eating our veggies, Japan's calling

Well........ our garden is being eaten. Not by the Lady or the Man. By something, mysteriously. I think it's a caterpillar or slugs. We have been making progress with all the veggies except the basil!! SO sad considering that fact that I was looking forward to a plethora of basil and pesto this summer!! Dude.......

Our basil leaves have been eaten up and are hole-ly :( Boo, sad face. Don't know the exact cause either and it just seems to be our basil plant. A few holes here and there in the tomato and pea plants but pretty much everyone else is healthy! What's going on........

(The peas!! So healthy!)

(Yellow summer squash for grilling)

(YES!! Finally some cilantro!!! Salsa time!)

(nice leafy lettuce)

(Our swiss cheese, eaten up basils)

(tomato plant is thriving)

(there's a bunch of black dots on these)

(on the other hand, the Man has taken upon him to start a landscaping project and rip up the front yard. He's
putting mulch where the rose bushes are, rose bushes were prune by the Lady)

(Looks like a land mine!)

As for travelling, the Lady is leaving for Japan this weekend and can't be more excited!! Japan pictures to follow!! Time to eat some really good sushi and Bachan's home cooking!

Hungry already,
The Lady