My Fave Day of the Year!

SERIOUSLY??? Where did the time go?? I can't believe Cookie is now 7!!! Her b-day was actually early last month... yes, I know, no need to remind me how up-to-date I am with blogging... (sigh)...

But, as I was saying... Time goes by too fast sometimes!! Thank friggin goodness for phone cameras! I can capture all the moments as much as I want!! =)

Cookie was with her dad the morning of her b-day... made me sad that I couldn't wake with her, what can ya do? But (!!) I got to spend some time with her after school! Sent her a birthday wish in the morning (by text)...

Found out later that she hadn't gotten it before school =( even though I had sent it before school began... boo...

I remember when her dad and I were still setting up our parenting schedule--he suggested that her b-day be spent with one parent every other year... um, NO WAY, JOSE!!!! Are you kidding me?? THIS. IS. THE. DAY. I. MET. HER!!! NO WAY was I going to miss seeing her on her b-day every single year! Well... up until the time she'll be grown and will prefer to hang out w/ her friends... but, until then, I will be seeing her every year no matter what!

After all the presents I bought for Christmas, I made a deliberate note to watch and keep track of what I was getting for her since I have such a BAD habit of excusing the quantity off because it's her b-day/holiday/whatever day and I just have the tendency to get most, if not everything, she asks for.

I'm making a very conscious effort to limit my spending on material items. After our trip to Thailand and numerous junk travel emails, I'm reminded everyday (literally) by my inbox of ALL the places I'd love for us to see and experience! I'd rather our monies be put toward those memories/experiences/excursions rather than something that eventually finds its way to Goodwill. This is also a good move since it'll teach Sophia by example of conscious spending--knowing what we want out of life and knowing where to direct our resources.

Before I get off track (like I normally do), I gave Sophia little compared to what I initially planned; and, honestly, it felt wrong! It felt like I was depriving her. Thinking about it now, I'm just shaking my head because, logically, it's silly for me to feel that way since anyone would be able to tell just by walking into her room that she is far from deprived; but, emotionally, it feels like I'm not doing enough... go figure! It must be that parent guilt that most get, eh? I need to keep it in check!

Anyways... Eli and I got her mainly MLP (for those of you who aren't current on the terminology, it's My Little Pony) themed items. It is cute to see her so excited for these kinds of little things. I kind of remember being like that... and I definitely remember MLP--they were a fad when I was growing up to. But I don't remember it lasting with me for that long. I just remember being so excited to get my very own MLP to brush its hair and whatnot; and then remember thinking, "hmm, that's it, huh?" Come to think of it, after that, I didn't care much for chachkies and steered away from little toys. Makes sense that I never had the desire to have a collection of anything, haha. I'm hoping that Sophia will feel the same way. She doesn't even play with 3/4 of the toys she has. And I'm always coming across a part of a set here and another piece over there... what's the point??

Anyhow... onto some photos!

After some time together, it was time for her to go greet her Papa and Nana at the airport!

And along she went in her new glittery pink sneaker wedges =)

Rainbow Loomin' & Comfort Zones

As of late, Sophia and I have been bonding over hours of Rainbow Loom... I LOVE it!!

I've been looking for something else that her and I both enjoy doing to spend good, quality time together. 

I fully support this addiction of hers, haha... So much that I bought her 7200 bands... Yes, 7200!! Almost got all the colors of the rainbow... I don't know who was more excited, Sophia or I, haha! 

She's been talking about a particular design for a bracelet, starbust, so I decided that I would surprise her with one for the next time her and I reunited =D

Also made her an inverted fishtail one since she's been making a BUNCH of regular fishtail ones--thought she'd like to see an alternative :)

Been showing her different designs/tutorials on YouTube since Thailand... We were kind of limited there since we didn't have the 1000s upon 1000s of bands as we do now. Also, I think Sophia was just hesitant on trying the new designs since they probably looked more tricky than the novice one that was included in the Rainbow Loom kit. But now that she's done the fishtail ones, she's becoming more and more comfortable with other intricate designs... I'm not surprised but a bit impressed on how quickly she's getting some of the more advanced designs =D 

These are just a few of what she's made... she's given some to her friends as well. 

This lil gal has so many bracelets now that it fills 1/2 her arm :D SO CUTE!!!!

What's really neat about this whole thing is that she's learning to do the different designs!! Glad that she didn't just get stuck on what she's familiar with. I constantly encourage her to try new things because I know that people tend to get stuck in their comfort zones. Just glad whenever I see she's not afraid to try something different and new! :) Consistently encouraging growth and change is such an important trait to have--not to be stuck living inside comfort zones. As I've said before--all the fun, magic, and colors are outside that zone...

Image via here

The pic above and below also reiterates another significant misconception that I had for many years... the road to success (whatever that may be to the reader) doesn't come without its fails and plenty of mistakes... 

Image via here

It's true... sometimes I had to take a step back to be able to take 2 steps forward. (I know, totally cliche, but it's so true!!) I use to be so afraid terrified to make a decision in case it would result in a mistake, that I ended up not taking any action at all... which ultimately is a decision in itself--to remain exactly where I am, not backwards and definitely not forward. Who wants to live a life in the same spot forever? Without any growth? While all those around you are zooming on by. Yeah, I could be "safe," but that's boring, unfulfilling, colorless, and would just suck any joy and hinder any chance at happiness. Wow! What was I thinking back then??? 

With all this talk about comfort zones and willingness to face the unfamiliar, I would never suggest to Sophia to blindly jump off without some caution. Nor am I ever suggesting to do harmful things/acts towards others or herself (ie drugs). I'm just merely saying that when Sophia is fearful or hesitant of doing something, she should use that as a compass to guide her to where she should go next--start planning and do it, girl! =)

As I'm sitting here and thinking about some of my life choices, it may not have been the most pleasant or pain-free, but I can definitely look at my current situation and know that without those struggles, I wouldn't have accomplished all that I have so far... and it's only the tip of the iceberg! Till the day I die, I will continue to blunder and react when I shouldn't (because, like you, I am human); but just as much as I am confident of my future mistakes, I am just as confident that I will learn, gain, and grow from those times. Of course, there will be certain situations that present themselves unpleasantly (sigh), but it is still up to us how we're going to handle the ugliness--I can either waste time blaming everybody and everything that may have caused it, or I can use that same amount of time and energy towards making things better... um, I'll go with the latter. 

Image via here

All the things I wish I was taught at a younger age, hopefully I can pass that onto my wee one... Give her hindsight to save her some time and she can be ahead of the game :) BUT as a former little rebellious troublemaker (as I'm sure most of you can relate), I know that kiddies aren't always going to listen... but I'm hoping and crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes that Sophia pick up a tidbit here and there... not holding my breath, though, haha...

This post definitely turned out way different than my initial intention (haha)... but that's why I love writing--never know where I might end up =)

Till the next time... 

THAILAND!!! Part 4...

Our trip to JJ Market--an extremely massive shopping center that you would never be able to get through in one day... largest market in Bangkok...

There is no way to capture its massive-ness in a few pics! This place had EVERYTHING!!! No joke!! What are you looking for?? Name something!! ANYTHING!! They HAVE IT!! You want an owl?? Yeah, they got that, too!!

There were ALL SORTS of animals you could buy... a section of the market was the pet area, I felt like I was walking through a mini zoo.

Basically, we shopped, we bought, we ate...

Guess I caught my aunt in mid smile? Haha...

Got to have popsicles!! =)

~~ Cousin love ~~

We were full the entire time we were at the market--everywhere we turned, there was something we could eat and drink! Right before we sat down for lunch, we were already snacking on kabob type eats and drinking juice, coffee, tea, all the above. Even after we had our lunch, we still got more stuff to eat... was so funny because Sophia said "Again??!!" accompanied with a I-can't-believe-it sort of face, hahaha!! Good thing we were walking for hours so that we were able to burn off all that we ate. 

By late afternoon, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we were HAPPY to get out of that ginormous market... we were exhausted!! But we weren't done for the day just yet! Thinking back to it now... it was a looooooooooooong day! And Sophia was awesome--just went w/ the flow of things. Well, I'm sure she didn't have too much to say at the market because she got plenty of goodies from my aunt. 

Little Cookie STILL had a big smile after HOURS upon HOURS of walking... I'm TOTALLY impressed!! I'm tellin' ya, she's a natural born traveler/explorer!! =)

I don't remember what was going on here but love Sophia's face and Eli's expression is just funny, hahaha!!

Smile =)

Until next time.........

** LOVE **

cookie & mama

THAILAND!! Part 3...

After our greeting of hugs, we were on our way to our first Thai meal :] YUM!! Btw, local time was 3 AM o_O

Once our bellies were full, went back to my cousin's beautiful house and crashed... 3 hrs later--our sleeping was all whacked! Woke up around noonish, got dressed, and headed out to eat (warning: there's going to be a lot of talk about eating during this adventure--that was 1/2 of our trip, haha). 

Haha... Cookie being silly with her eyes =)

And, more silliness...

Didn't know about this till I was looking through my phone, haha

Went for our late lunch and that's when Sophia learned about open-air dining--lots of local eateries in Thailand are open to the outside and are not often enclosed unless the restaurant has the a/c on--central air is not as common as it is here in the states. She definitely had to adapt, and adapt she did :) I'm telling ya, she's got natural skills for a world traveler :P Cookie complained about the occasional fly but that didn't last long. 

After that meal, we went to go see another aunt (who I consider as my 1st mother) that I haven't seen in YEARS! And finally have Sophia meet her!! (Another tearful reunion.) I felt like I was teleported back in time to an earlier part of my life. A part of me always wonders in moments like these of how my life would have been like if I had remained in Thailand... ever since I was a child, I always imagined that there was a parallel universe where I lived a different path than the one I'm on now--I wonder what's happening over there... sigh... 

I digress...

Anyhow... a couple hours of catching up and just a few hours of our lunch, guess what we did?? (Hint was given earlier in the post.)

DUH!!....

Just the first of MANY eating pics to come o_O

We ate, OF COURSE!!!! 

The only pic that's missing from here (that I am kicking myself in the butt for) is one of my mother-aunt and I!!! ARGH!!!! Oh, well, guess that means we just need to go back so I can get that pic, hahaha :) 

Not a whole lot happened this day but it was memorable nonetheless :D 

Great start to our trip, can't wait to share more soon! 

== LOVE ==

COOKIE & MAMA

THAILAND!! Part 2...

And......... we're in KOREA!!!... 13 hours later o_O

In Vegas, the first thing you see at the airport after you get off the plane are slot machines... in Korea, this is the first thing you see off the plane...

Only in Korea... haha!!

Psssssshhh... you know you totally watch them Korean soap operas and listen to Korean pop! Haha!!

And as we make our way through another security check point and proceed toward our connecting flight, what do we find?....

DUH!!! Of course we would run into a cafe based off of the ever most popular Sanrio character, Hello Kitty, haha! So, you guessed it... this is where we had our lunch/dinner/whatever meal it was... our time was so off, there was no basis for it--in a 24 hr period, we were in 3 different time zones o_O

Soon after we got to our gate to wait out the rest of our layover, this happened...

My sweet girl...

Cookie looked like those many others you see snoozing on the lined up chairs at various gates... awww... poor girl was so tired... by this action alone, she should be admitted into the world traveler's club =P Speaking of which..... y'know, when I was just 6 years old, I was not as experienced as Sophia is today in terms of traveling--this gal has been to each side of the US (and Puerto Rico) and now she can check off international travel on her bucket list! Seriously!! How do I get this gig?? Haha!!

During our stay in Thailand, she was already thinking ahead and asked where we were going to travel for Spring and Summer break... WHA??? Cookie threw around a few suggestions--she mentioned PR to go horseback riding again (still gotta post that =/ ), New York to find Spiderman and to see the State of Liberty, or back to Thailand. Haha!! Got a natural born traveler on our hands! Is this like her talent/passion? Cause it can be expensive (yikes!!)! She better start looking for a job now, hahahaha!!

So, after another 6 hours, we were in THAILAND!!!!!!!!!!!

My first thought, "Thank freakin' GOODNESS!!!" I'm sure Sophia was as eager to get out of the plane as much as everybody else onboard, but it didn't help much when she was literally counting down the minutes till we landed--yes, there was a countdown clock provided on our in-flight entertainment screens... thank you, Korea Air, for providing that info... haha... it's funny now, but wasn't so much at that moment.

Our next goal was to get to through the immigration/customs line as quick as possible... I don't have a pic of it, but good luck to us cause the line was literally at least a mile long! On very little sleep and a young'n on our hands, this was going to be a struggle--so close but yet so far (this is where I cried on the inside, haha). But, FORTUNATELY, after waiting 20 min, we were able to bypass the rest of the line because an airport employee saw that we were with a young child and had us go to a different line... with ONLY 1 PERSON in front of us, YOO-HOO!!! YAY!!!!!! Was so relieved!!!! Thank you random airport employee randomly walking by!!!

And, here it is...

SOPHIA'S VERY FIRST STAMP IN HER PASSPORT!!!!

I'm so excited for her!!! (As though you couldn't tell.)

After that excitement (for me, haha), we jetted to the baggage claim... what a little trooper--if you look closely, you can totally make out the tired in her eyes and she still managed to give a bit of a smile for this shot.

That was just 1 piece of our belongings, 1 more and we'd be free to finally go meet up with my fam!!! SO CLOSE!!!!! ALMOST THERE!!! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!! (Side note: I was surprised that we only needed 2 pieces of luggage... YAY us!!!)

Unfortunately, we didn't get a pic of the airport fam reunion; but no worries, I got plenty of pics throughout the trip... Asian style, haha!!

So, that's it for now... see you again in Part 3 =D

XXOO,

cookie & mama