OH Disneyland. When I think about my happy places... this definitely ranks top 5. I honestly could go to Disneyland every other week. When you're there it feels like time has stopped, and you can be a kid again. I used to go to Disneyland EVERY other year, but I haven't been here since 2006, LONG over due. I am so grateful to my Auntie, Uncle, cousin Jami, and my favorite little man Dylan. Jami and Dylan have annual passes, I'm SO J. Over the years when I'd go it'd be with my sister, this is the first time I went with a little kid. And oh my goodness... the energy they have!!! "Let's go in this cave!" "We didn't go this way!" Even though Dylan is a pretty experienced Disneylander, he still would get excited about rides and seeing things. He's kind of a scaredy cat (just like his Auntie Sarah, lol), he absolutely refused to go on Pirates of the Caribbean (even though he likes the movies) and we renamed Haunted Mansion, The Funky House. We stayed there all day, it was perfect!!! Next year I'd love to take Dyland to The Wizardly World of Harry Potter in Orlando!

Rain rain go away, I would like to run and ride my bike today. Actually just running, if I don't run every other day I feel like a fat ass. And with all these new Japanese restaurants I've been eating like a heffer. So weather please clear up so I can go for my every-other-day run. I don't know how I will ever stand Seattle weather, if I move up there. And I hate going to the gym, I'm more of a get outdoors kind of workout person. I feel like it takes too much effort to go to the gym. Ok so it actually stopped raining, and I plopped my lazy ass down in the papa san chair and I've been just watching glee videos on youtube for the past hour. At least I'm not watching General Hospital. I go through sporadic periods where I get into GH, last time this happened I think it was 2 years ago when Robin and Patrick were having a baby. Then I try to catch myself up to speed with the story lines, then I get sucked back by all the hot guys because let's face it of all the soap operas GH has the hottest cast (hello Dr. Patrick Drake).

Well back to my Cali trip recap... I hope to be back soon. I'm having some serious withdraws. The whole reason for this glorious trip was for Kristin's wedding. The first girl from our Krazy 8 to get hitched, and I couldn't be more happy for her. The wedding was at MOLAA Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, outdoors, cold, but beautiful. The reception was held in the museum (super cool and gave me ideas for my future non-existenet wedding... hmmm dinosaurs at the Bishop Museum or the Contemporary Museum gardens?!?). As guests walked in there was a mini-photo booth, which we camera whores (me, glo, and kay) took full advantage of later. And we danced and drank (well just me) the night away. It was great to be back all together. Congratulations to Kristin and Gabe, here's to a happy, loving, blissful life together!!!

I don't know what is about weddings but it always makes you think of how you want your wedding to be, you dream about who you will marry (hopefully a cross between sweet Finn Hudson, funny Jim Halpert, and hot Patrick Drake). How you're ceremony will be, who you will have to cut from the guest list, the dance playlist, colors, bridesmaid dresses (Fighting Eel)... oh weddings.  All I can say is 5 years from now I'm still planning on having a Glee wedding.

 
Yes my first Pinkberry experience gets it's own blog entry. I'm not the biggest froyo lover, I'll eat it once in awhile, usually just yogurtland with roomies or an after work snack with Chaz at the Waikiki location. I'm also a non-adventurous yogurt eater, my favorite flavor is plain (is this a reflection of my personality?) and my toppings consist of fresh fruit and chocolate chips, AND never does my cup go over $4 at yogurtland. haha... but Pinkberry, oh Pinkberry. I think if a Pinkberry opened here in Honolulu (other than the airport!?! grrr) it could change my relationship with froyo drastically.
Now I never ever go to California seeking Pinkberry. I know I know you'd think I would with all the hype and celebs gushing about it, I just wasn't something I felt I needed. Anna and I just had to stumble upon the shop after some shopping at Ross and Nordstrom Rack. We looked at each other and were just like, "Let's do it!" I ordered a plain with waffle cone chips and hot milk chocolate with crisps for my topping. IT WAS AMAZING. The yogurt wasn't too tart, and just enough of the creamy taste, it just blended so perfect. After I finished my cup I immediately texted my friend Ross, also a Pinkberry lover, "Sorry won't be able to make it back to work, I've died and gone to Pinkberry heaven."
Looks like I've added another eatery on my please open one in Hawaii list...

Ahhh good ol California, probably one of my favorite state to visit. Last week roomie Anna headed to the so called sunshine state (really it was overcast and COLD most of the time) for our dear friend Kristin's wedding, which I'll blog about later. We stayed at the Renaissance in Long Beach with some of our old high school crew, Kay and Gloria. The four of us together was just like old times. We're still silly, happy-go-lucky, dorky, it's good to have friends that just get you.
I haven't explored Long Beach much before, I've heard mixed reviews ghetto in certain areas, not much to do, home to Snoop Dogg and Warren G. So when I was researching what fun things we could do together, we stuck to the touristy stuff. Our first night was spent dining on the historic RMS Queen Mary. It wasn't hoppin as I expected, the ship was pretty eerie in fact, not many people walking around, the restaurants wasn't bustling. Anna said she heard that the ship was haunted, I wouldn't be surprised, it's old, and they do offer ghost tours. The food was pretty good, but unfortunately Anna and I had an In-n-Out burger right when we got off the plane, so I was pretty full. We wanted to go back and explore the ship in the daytime, but we didn't have enough time.
The next day Gloria, Anna, and I decided to explore the Aquarium of the Pacific! When I was reading reviews, the thing that I was most excited about was they had an area where you could touch sharks. I'm not sure if you know this but I LOVE sharks, ever since I was kid. Favorite animal: sharks. The aquarium was really good, definitely a great place to take the kids. I still think Maui Ocean Center or the Vancouver Aquarium are my favorites tho.

Back from my mini San Francisco vacay with Priya! I hate the fact that time just FLIES by when you are on vacation, but when you are at work or not on vacation the days and weeks go on FOREVER. I'll definitely blog more about my trip later... here are just some random thoughts on my mind.

-San Francisco, a city I could definitely move to...

-I thought Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway album was the BEST break-up album, but on my trip I found John Mayer's Continuum. I downloaded this album back when it was first released, I guess I never really listened to his words. John Mayer you're kind of an asshole, but your music is amazing.

-OK I'll admit I like watching the new Hawaii 5-0.

-Urban Outfitters definitely NEEDS TO OPEN A STORE IN HAWAII NOWWWW. Now I say!

-Priya has this game for her iPod Touch, where you beat levels by beating a timer. I'm not sure what it is called, but it is addicting.

-I'm growing out my bangs. I say that all the time, but I'd really like to switch up my hairstyle. I can't wait for long hair.

-OH also still obsessed with Fleetwood Mac "Landslide." I've never been a fan of Fleetwood Mac but, I love this song SO much.

More Canada photos... I've been slacking on my posts. On this day we went to Granville Island and Lynn Canyon. Granville Island was great! Big public market, lots of local foods and eateries. I could've stayed in there trying all the different foods ALL day. My favorites were the meat places and the granville tea company.

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Life has been tiring lately. Over the past couple of weeks, I've been applying for jobs, eating good dinner cooked by my sister, enjoying the beach, etc. I haven't been to Maui in awhile. I'm just trying to figure out what to do next, where I want my life to go and how I will get there. I'll never find a better job than working at the Advertiser and I can't work retail forever. What's my next move? I have a lot of thoughts to sort through, but there hasn't been a whole lot of jobs out there. It's like I need the money but I am enjoying this whole one job thing.

That's right I snowboarded the famous Blackcomb Mountain at Whistler. For my second time snowboarding, that's pretty cool right! Let me just tell you I WAS DYING. It was end of season, snow was icy not slushy, and it was so much harder to stand up because it was so icy. My knees took a beating and it took me about 2 hours to get down on my first run! I felt really bad for my sister because I was totally holding her back, come on 2 hours! The bunny hills were already closed on the mountain, so I HAD to go on the so called beginners routes. After my first and only run, I told my sister I would wait at the bottom while she went off and explored the other stuff. This part was seeing snow fall. When we got off the ski lift, it started to snow. It was my first time which was so coo but, towards the end it was almost like hail which is not so cool. OH Whistler I will be back, and next time I'll go down more than once!!!!!

I also found a BILLABONG, and stocked up on my Billabong Canada merch. Sadly no discount....LAME.

Canada Pt. 2

Our second day in Vancouver started bright and early. We spent the whole day in Stanley Park! Did you know that Stanley Park is 10% bigger than Central Park? This park is CRAZY huge. Unfortunately I forgot my DSLR so I had to use my mom's point and shoot, I know if I had my camera the photos would have came out WAY better.

We started the day at the Vancouver Aquarium. It's probably one of the coolest aquarium's I've been to, you know me a sucker for those marine animals. The weird thing is they also had like alligators, frogs, and birds, I totally didn't get it. My favorite part was the dolphins, seals (that were able to do high fives, how awesome are they!), sea otters (too cute), and the belugas. You know the song "Baby Beluga," (the one that Michelle Tanner wouldn't stop singing on Full House) was inspired by one of the belugas at the aquarium.

After the aquarium we walked out of the park to rent bikes and ride around the park. This was my idea, since I'm so bicycle happy right now. I can't believe my entire family went along with it, even my dad, the ride was 5.5 miles! We rode around the park in 1 hr. and 15 min. (I would've probably done it in less time, if I didn't have to keep stopping and waiting for my family to catch up to me).

Canada Pt. 1

Let me just start by saying when my family voted for Vancouver as our trip this year I wasn't all that thrilled. I went on a day trip to Vancouver from Seattle, and I wasn't all that impressed. And to spend a week there didn't seem too exciting. I wanted to go to Chicago or New York City or Disneyland (I'm a sucker for Disneyland). But no Vancouver won, and now after my trip I'm glad Vancouver won.

We got into Vancouver late, so our Canadian vacay started late afternoon the next day (we have a couple of late starters in my family). Because we only had a half day, we spent it walking around downtown and doing what I do best, shop. The best thing I found was Ernie and Bert shoes at the New Balance store, sadly they didn't fit.

Got back from my trip on Monday, why does time see to go by faster when you are on vacation?And when you are at work or the days leading to and after your vacation seem waaaaay longer than they should be. As I told my coworker Parker, I need a job that's always on vacation. Dear Samantha Brown, I'd like to takeover your job. Sincerely, Sarah Kawachi. While we wait for Sam to get back to me, here's my vacay recap, part one of who knows how many:

Family Vacay, Pt. 1.

Colo "rad" o... saw that on a t-shirt at work today.

My vacation started off in good ol Grand Junction, Colorado. It was my first time visiting my sister's college and Colorado (I know, I know, horrible sister, but HEY I planned on visiting beforehand, but you know other trips came along that seemed much more exciting.. NYC, SF, Japan, countless visits to Maui, who can resist that versus visits to Grand Junction the middle of NOWHERE... haha just kidding Kel). Grand Junction, was quite frankly boring. I could see how my sister could get homesick, there's not much. But it does have that small town charm, and I love that there is art EVERYWHERE! My lil sis graduated with a Bachelor's in Business and an Associate's in Applied Science (Culinary) with honors. Woop woop the youngest Kawachi graduates! Welcome to the real world (it's really nothing all that great).

We spent a just 3 days in Colorado, mostly helping my sister move out of her apartment and tie loose ends up, and I was also stuck doing work for the jobs I applied for (writing tests, application tests.. tedious but it's gotta be done). Fortunately for me we took a break from all that work and went to A-Basin for my first taste of snowboarding! Ok so I skate, I surf, I thought snowboarding would be not that hard to pick up. Um HELLO it is incredibly hard and scary AND not too mention it hurts WAAAAAAAY more when you fall. BUT I had a blast, I was definitely HURTING the next day, but it was worth the pain. Next time I go snowboarding I'll be more ready! We also drove through Vail, Aspen, and went to Denver so I could do some damage at Urban Outfitters.

Some Colorado highlights, in no particular order:

-Eating at Noodles & Company. I love noodles, this place was my heaven.

-AHHHHH fresh tortilla chips from Denver Whole Foods.

-Not eating it 3 out of 20 times getting off of the ski lift. That thing is dangerous and oh so tricky to get off from.

-Kelly's graduation dinner at her restaurant 626 on the Rood.

-Sharing a beer in the kitchen refrigerator with Kelly and her college friends, oh how I miss those days.

-Seeing animals on the side of the road and in our headlights. My mom almost hit a deer and I saw the long horned sheep.

-That Expedition we rented, so roomy, great for our long road trips.

Some Colorado fails:

-Didn't get to a Billabong.

-Had only one hour to shop at UO.

-Didn't get to eat at Sonic or Chipotle.

-Sushi bars.

-Only driving past the hot spring, it looked SO good.

-Weird weather, the day of my sister's graduation was rainy as hell, and then the day we left it was hot as hell.

-That damn two propeller plane.

New reads

Went to the mall today to find new bikini bottoms, decided to get some new reads instead. I found a lonely planet tokyo guide. Mike and I are planning a big trip next october or november, tokyo is at the top of our list! It's never too early to start planning. And I after hearing great things I decided to try "Naturally Thin" by Real Housewife Bethanny Frankel. Actually I didn't really hear great things, but I did notice @lobosworth was reading it on twitter!
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Best part of vegas

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I heart sandwiches

Especially from 'wichcraft!
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Back from Japan

Konnichi wa!! I had an amazing time with family in Tokyo over the past week. I twas sad to come back home, a week is definitely NOT enough time to visit Japan. We stayed in the Tokyo area and did not get the chance to venture off to other cities like Kyoto, Osaka, or Hiroshima, but one day, one day. I don't like saying this was a once in a lifetime trip, because that's like implying that you're never going to go back. And I can tell you, this is definitely NOT my last trip to Japan, this is only the beginning.

My dad saved up ALLLLL his miles to take us on this trip, isn't he the greatest. One day I'd like to do the same, after I win the megabucks in Vegas this coming July. :) Actually I am really considering living in Japan, teaching english through either JET or another good program. It's hard to get in but I'm going to try and apply this coming fall. My nihongo is a little bit rusty, but I'm pretty sure I can get by. A lot of people we talked to said that my nihongo was very joozu (skillful). Arigatoo gozaimashita Wong sensei.

I think I gained some weight from eating all the ono food; tempura, omurice, Japanese style hamburger steak, donburi, and don't forget Mister Donut....AHHHHH I was in food heaven. Here's some pics:

Above: Eating at Mister Donut, my Kid's Set.

Above: My family and I atop the Tokyo Tower.

Above: In Asakusa.

Above: YAY Tokyo!

Above: Shaka with Stitch at DisneySea.

Above: With the beloved Hachiko!