A new year again..

So this wasn't planned.  I did not look at my previous post and say, I'm going to post 1 month later.  I just happened to have been thinking that I should update for the past several days and today is the day that I have found time to do so.

I am about 3 weeks post-op from my PRK procedure.  I still don't see 20/20.  DO NOT BE ALARMED.  The healing process for PRK is longer than LASIK.  So it's okay.  Currently, I see 20/25 in my right eye and 20/30 in my left.  Not bad, but I do see halos, starbursts and also some ghosting (almost double vision like, but not exactly) in the evenings and in certain dim lighting.  My vision also fluctuates hourly.  But I already have loved the fact that I don't have to deal with contacts.  The comfort level of my eyes is pretty good.  Supposedly, I have dry eyes, but I don't feel the dryness.  I just have to remember to use my Refresh Plus preservative-free eye drops to decrease the dryness and I also use Pred Forte, a steroid drop that seeps into my tear ducts down my nasal cavity and down to the back of my throat.  It's very bitter.  BUT amidst all of this, I love that I don't have to wear contacts!  I will not go into details about my surgery because I don't want to scare anyone or make your eyes well up in tears.  I will add that the 4 days after the procedure were very painful.  But if you want to know, send me an email and I'll answer any questions the best I can.  I definitely will testify that it is well worth it.  If my vision remained what it is now, I'd be satisfied and still extremely happy with the results.

During the holiday season, I got the chance to spend time with friends and family.  My bro-in-law's niece and nephew are so incredibly cute.  They just put a smile on my face.  I recieved so many wonderful gifts that I don't deserve and sometimes I feel like my family and I spend too much money.  We should learn how to spend more on others and try to bless the lives of those less fortunate than us.  I did not make any new years resolutions as I don't remember the last time I made one that I achieved. 

I did start a workout routine that will help me get into better shape so I feel healthier and where I can spend time with Chi at the gym.  He is trying to lose weight throughout a longer period compared to his previous weight loss binges.  My body is very sore and it's hard to go to the gym after a long day of work, but it's been successful so far with much encouragement from Chi and the anticipated weekly sightings of my siblings at the gym.  It's weird, even though we live in the same city (heck, I live in the same house with one of them), we don't see each other many times throughout the week.

Chi and I have a little over 9 months until the wedding.  Planning is slow.  We are lazy and procrastinators.  We have booked our photography and videography which is also why we are working out hard.  We have decided to spend a lot of money on those two things for they last forever.  Wedding planning is very expensive as we have to pay deposits for many of the vendors.  I finally did order my dress which comes in at the beginning of April.  I am an impulsive buyer, so I already bought a pair of shoes that I like very much, so I hope that matches the dress.    Another aspect of marriage aside from planning the big day is the preparation for our entire future together.  Chi and I are going to start our premarital counseling this weekend.  I am really excited, however Chi is not too thrilled.  I have told him that I know what is wrong with me and I want to find solutions.  Chi claims nothing is wrong with him--so I tell him the first part of his problem is denial.  I can already tell that this part will be exciting and fun in the preparatory stage for our lifetime together! 

Finally, starting next month, I will no longer have to travel to Shelby (YAY!) however I will also no longer have my 4 day work schedule.  I am giving it up so I don't have to travel so much.  I will work much closer to home and can take the local roads to work from Westerville.  I am thrilled and can't wait for the last day I have to drive to my current work location!

I have updated more then I planned.  I hope everyone that God will bless many of you in ways that you never imagined in 2008!      

So today is this the last day I can wear my contacts before my surgery in 10 days.  It's a bittersweet feeling.  I could've just thrown the contacts away, but I still stuck it in the case to let it wash overnight.  I don't know why.  I won't ever be able to wear them again after the surgery.  I should be excited.

So to update from the last time.  Chi and I went to Vegas last weekend and it was really fun.  We wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for the generosity of our friend Jason who was already there and allowed us to stay with him in the beautiful suite at Luxor.  We ate, walked around, watched a couple of shows, did a little bit of gambling and just spent time with friends.  I think the most beautiful hotel in Vegas that I got to see was the Venetian.  It's stunning and I hope that I'll get to go to Italy in the future to actually see how beautiful the country really is.  We watched Zumanity, which I did not like and also saw Andrea Bocelli.  He is absolutely amazing and I think that was one of the highlights of the trip! 

A few downers on the trip was that it was a little chilly, around the 50's in Vegas all weekend and even rained the evening we got into the city.  Also, I didn't know that my cousin was also in Vegas while I was there.  I would've love to have seen him! 

Our suite at Luxor and the view from our window.  That door at the end of the room connected to Jason's single room.  He let us stay in the suite! 

A game that Chi played at Excaliber where the man had to guest his weight; Chi won me a pink Las Vegas cap.  He was disappointed though since he thought he was going to get his money back if he won.   

Hanging out at the Caesar's Forum Shops with Chi, Jason, Amery and Gary.

Evening stroll on the strip and eating lunch at Trader Vic's.  It was delish!

Mandy visiting us and bringing us some In-N-Out burgers!  Thanks Mandy!  Jason and I toasting to a relaxing weekend.

Amery and I taking our 3rd picture which finally turned out normal and Jason, Me and Chi at Noodles at the Bellagio.

My future wedding cake.  Just kidding!  This cake probably costs more than my wedding dress!

I don't know when I'll visit Vegas again, however the next time I do, I want to visit the red rock mountains national park!

On Friday night, I got a chance to see my friend Hannah before she leaves for NJ.  Another reason to travel more in the future!

I am not ready for Christmas.  I still need to do more shopping!  I hope that everyone stays safe in the extremely weird Columbus weather.  On the two days that it snowed a lot, it took me 2 to 2.5 hours to get to work in the morning.  Yikes, I hope I don't have to go through that too much more this winter. 

Hope everyone has safe weeks leading to the holiday season!  God Bless. 

Overdue Post.

So our trip to KC was so much fun.  Hanging out with Chi and his childhood friends Jason and John not only brought tears to my eyes from being overwhelmed with happiness, but also because of the stories they were telling me of how they grew up in the ghetto.  Chi will be the first to admit that he lives in the ghetto back in Cleveland.  He went to ghetto schools growing up and that's how he's acquired his AAE along with his ESL.    We enjoyed great Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese food and good old KC BBQ.  They were all delish!

We also had time to visit the Argosy casino in KC when our host John had a wedding to attend.  I played with $50 and was down to $40 at one point when I got bored and played Paigow Poker.  I won $50--it doesn't take a genius to figure out that I made 100% back!  Of course I'm definately giving credit to beginner's luck and do not have intentions of attending any tournaments anytime soon.   

We also attended church on Sunday and stayed after for their Sunday school service.  Last time I visited, I did not go to Sunday school due to my flight leaving shortly after service.  It was really cool this time to attend Sunday school--I don't remember the last time I had ever been!  And they have a quite famous pastor who has been all over the world and enjoys teaching the Chinese population.  His name is Pastor Carl Hunker.  It was also great to meet John's friends and spend time with them.  There are some great people in KC! 

John, Chi and Jason;                                                                    Chi and I

I absolutely love this picture of John and Jason b/c it's so funny!      Yummy lunch at the Vietnamese restaurant with John's friends.  This restaurant had this yummy sweet potato and shrimp fried appetizer where you dip these sweet potato fries with shrimp in the fish sauce.  It was so good!  Almost every group ordered their own dish of this specialty!

Our last meal at a sushi restaurant where we had two huge plates of sashimi that was delicious!  The best comment during the meal was when John had his head down after he took a bite of sashimi--I asked him what he was doing since I was afraid he was choking and he replied that he wanted to concentrate on the flavor of the fish and analyze the texture or something.  Jason blurts out:  "You're eating the fish, not dating it."

These boys have a lot of history and it was really fun hearing all the stories of the ghetto things they did as they were growing up while they insisted they were trying to make a living.  It's great to see the men they've become but also great to see how they can still be children at heart when around each other.  I am so thrilled to have them in our wedding. 

Great trip with great memories!

Some more thrills ahead.. I wasn't planning on making any more trips this year; however Chi has surprised me with tickets to Vegas at the end of the month.  No, I do not plan on making a living out there or anything, I am just excited to take a trip to a lively city that I haven't been to since almost 10 years ago.  And we'll be in great company of Jason along with other friends! 

Finally, I go in for my LASIK/PRK consultation on Monday.  I am excited yet nervous.  I really do pray that I am a candidate because I want to get my eyes corrected so bad.  If everything goes well, I'll have perfect 20/20 vision by the end of this year! 

Oh, and working in Shelby has been much better ever since I started listening to audiobooks.  Right now, I'm on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  I really admire the reader of the audiobook and his ability to portray all the characters with different voices and accents.  He does a great job with alternating the characters and I can even tell by what he says which character he's portraying!  These audiobooks have gotten me through the 154 mile daily drive! 

Have a great rest of the week and stay warm with a hot cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows and whip cream! 

Autumn

This is my first week working in Shelby, OH and despite the long drive to work, I've thoroughly enjoy it because of the beautiful trees that I see.  The leaves are bright hues of red, orange and yellow.  I wish I had trees in my backyard that look like the ones I drive by everyday. 

Chi and I debated on whether or not I should get a new vehicle because of the long drives I have.  At first, we were on the same page, but then I decided that instead of that, I wanted to be able to get more at our wedding:  ie. videography, DJ, florist.  I know--shallow, but I really do want the videography since I think that it'll be something that we'll have forever.  Also, the more we get, the easier I feel like our lives will be once the day comes; I'm very picky and conversationally speaking (not in the Freudian way)--anal retentive as it is so I don't want to be stressed on the wedding day.  Plus my car is still in good condition.  It could use a good wash though..

Anyways, a trip to KC next weekend concludes all the planned trips I've taken this year.  I don't have any other ones planned for the next months to come---but that can always change!  

Enjoy the Autumn weather!  And don't forget to buy candy for the little ones! 

Changes in Life and more..

So once things get on the ball with wedding planning, it seems much more pleasant than before when I'd have horrible nightmares.  So far, we just have the photographer booked, 3/5 of the bridesmaid dresses ordered and a definite on the reception site--just not booked.  And I do have my wedding gown chosen--just not ordered yet!

The situation with my wedding gown is quite funny.  The size that the gown puts me in is about 3-4 sizes larger than my usual dress size.  Apparently, this is normal advise by previous brides.  As my sister and I were contemplating this while I was remeasuring myself to see if it was any different from the professional measurements I got taken, I sat down and started opening a reese's cup.  Behind me, I hear my sister yell:  "DON'T YOU CARE THAT YOU'RE A SIZE __!!!"  It was shocking at first, however it cracked me up and I said "No, I'm gonna eat another one.  YUM" 

As for other news, I accepted a position with my company to be a full-time internal travel therapist.  I will be traveling starting the week of Oct. 14th to Shelby, Ohio.  It's a small small city where I don't even get reception from T-Mobile!  Anyways, I was able to work out a schedule where I'd only have to travel 4 days and get an extra day off during the week.  This works out great for my last weekends in October since I was planning on taking Mondays off due to weekend trips!  I'm excited yet have bittersweet feelings about leaving the coworkers I've gotten to know and like a little better.  But changes are good aren't they?

I love Autumn when the leaves are changing colors and I have to start bundling up in hoodies.  My favorite part is also when I drive to work really early, around 6 AM and when it begin to change from dark to light and there're hues of purple/blue/orange streaks throughout the sky!  I love it!