Family Fun & Some Clean Up

Late post - Family's in town.

Early July, my aunt came to LA to take my grandma home to Japan. I am deeply sad to see my grandma go back home, and of course, it's always depressing. But I know I will see her again soon and I hope she stays well. I'm glad I was able to bring her to LA during my trip to Japan in April. She's a strong lady, funny as anything with the best sense of humor an 84 year old can have. She's the best grandma ever. 

(Wine tasting at San Antonio Winery. I was the chauffeur)

(Every time my family comes from Japan, we have to have lobster. It's like a tradition.
This time it was BBQ lobster and it was delicious! My mom and aunt look funny, it
was so dang hot!)

(Fourth of July, watching fireworks at a nearby school)

(This kid never let's me down. He's so funny, sleeping sideways. My little baby P)

(Look at all these red tomatoes!)

(This was a big, but SO satisfying job!! Finally got tired of the dirty hallway, so decided
to mop up and clean the floor and lay out the runners! Boy does it make a difference! I
LOVE the huge mirror from Ikea too!! Makes a world of a difference in this dingy
hallway!)

(Can't wait to get the walls and the ceiling done in the hallway too. Love the runners!
Now I can walk barefoot upstairs!)

(Another HUGE undertaking of mine. Cleaned up the yellow room!! Wow, it was nasty
and dirty, and dusty and messy!! Took all of the Man's tools downstairs and emptied
out this room. I must've mop this floor at least a good 10 times because it was filthy!)

(But now we have a whole other room which will be my study! The vanity should've been
demo'd, but maybe later. The make-shift curtain is temporary as well. We've gotten
blinds from Ikea, just haven't put them up! Can't wait to get my projects started in
this room!)

(This Guy......my love)

Missing my family,
The Lady

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

Life's Spin

Strange how sometimes life just turns you around, spins you a 180 degrees the other way and then bonks you in the head and says wake up. Taking a second from the construction updates and focusing on real life stuff. Family. When family is affected, stupid little things like construction and color of tiles really don't matter anymore. They seem so minuscule even though it kind of stresses me out.

My dear grandpa has basically been hospitalized since January. I briefly went to visit him in Japan in March mostly due to a scare of worsening conditions. My grandpa is a strong man, hardworking, no nonsense kind of man, who took care of his family and worked basically his whole life. It was heartbreaking to see such a man as I have always remembered strong, to be weakened and hospitalized. It really affected me emotionally when I went in March. It was very hard, devastating, heart wrenching and most of all, I felt complete and utter helplessness. 

He is stable now and is doing okay to an extent, but still hospitalized. However, I just received some daunting news from my relatives that he is once again not doing so well. It is as easy as shattering a piece of glass. Bad news of family members feels like that to me. So fragile. It can change like that, at a snap of a finger. And again, I feel helpless being miles and miles away. 

Just last night, the Man and I ran into a friend at the local hardware store as we were leaving after checking out some floor tiles. He is also a diver and shared some stories with us of his dives. I actually didn't know he dove, so it was exciting (always) to hear a fellow divers adventures. He has been everywhere diving, and I found myself envious of his adventures and dives!! I have forgotten so easily the thrill and excitement that diving gives me. I've been so consumed with this freaking house that I have forgotten everything. Seems like all I get is bad news lately about the house, I have forgotten the amazing, exhilirating feeling that diving gives me. It was just so great and so fascinating to hear his stories and his dives.

As cliche as it sounds, you really have to stop and smell the roses once in a while. One minute you can be so consumed about one thing and the next minute, it's all forgettable. As a diver once said, do a 360 spin before ascending out of the water. Lesson learned, do a 360 every once in a while.

Spinning,
The Lady

Okay, let's go!

Well here goes!

We love traveling, the beach, the mountains, the metropolitan city, we love food and all kinds of it, we love movies and music and our beautiful home town, Los Angeles, for its always gorgeous weather, its eclectic diversity and all its nooks and crannies. We love our families and our little pets and our friends. Our lives are so blessed to have the ability to travel and create all kinds of memories, here in LA and around the world. Follow our journey!

Affectionately,

The Lady