Goodbye 2014...Hello 2015

This post is a little late since I have just returned from relatives houses after church, but I still wanted to do it, because I feel the need to write and reflect on the year. This year has been hard, I can't deny that. I have gone through things that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I hit the bottom....hard. I felt like I was drowning and I felt alone, but this year was not all bad.  I was able to strengthen my relationship with God. I learned how to really depend on his love and graciousness and more importantly I learned how to listen the Him.  This was not without help. I've had an amazing support system. My parents dropped everything to try to help me, my bf has been so patient and understanding and my friends(near and far) have been a constant reminder of all the good that still remains in this world.

Talking about friends, I have to say that there are a few people on Twitter that might not realize it, but they play a very important role in my life and this recovery that I'm slowly trying to get through. You know who you are and I want to thank you for every kind word that let me know that I wasn't alone in my struggles, I want to thank you for every supportive and encouraging message you've sent me, I want to thank you for every gif and picture you've sent just to brighten my day. I want you all to know that I am so grateful, so thankful and so blessed to have you all in my life and I hope that we continue to help each other, care for each other and encourage each other in 2015. I love you all!

-Sierra

Thankful...

This is going to be short.  I'm thankful for the amazing people that have been there for me over the last week. If you sent me a kind word, or a wish that I'd feel better soon.  Thank you.  This week was a hard one and without my friends(near and far) around, I don't think I would have held up as well as I have.  Special thanks to the person who knew what I needed and when I needed it. No one in my life is replaceable. I value the people that I've met and also the people I have yet to meet. You all play an important role in my life....even if you don't know it. Thank you.

Laughter Cures...

I love this quote so much, it states the most important quality that I look for in people that I surround myself with. The world needs more laughter, and luckily for me I have people in my life that make me laugh every single day. I have some of the best friends in the world and although some of them are thousands of miles away, I still feel their love and light with me wherever I go.  What brought on this sentimental post you might wonder....well, my special someone sent me 4 videos of him hanging out with our best friends in Japan and it just brought back memories of my trip to Japan last year. The fun, laid back days and the wild and crazy nights. I miss them all terribly and I wish that things were different and that they were with me all the time, but it's true what they say....absence makes the heart grow fonder. 

On another note, I finally received something in the mail that I wasn't expecting and it was from my second mother. I had my eye on this watch for the longest and I was going to buy it last week, but luckily I didn't! 

I love love love it! 

On that note, I hope that each and everyone of you have people in your life that not only encourage you to laugh and be happy, but are participating in making that happen for you!

Until next time~

Planning A Weekend Getaway-Flight and Hotel Site Review

I'm currently planning a birthday extended weekend in Las Vegas and I thought I'd take this opportunity to give a quick review on some of the flight and hotel sites that are pretty popular. My interest was to find out who offered the cheapest options and also the ease of using the websites. I hope that this post can be useful to anyone who is thinking about planning a trip! The following prices are based off of my trip planning. I just wanted to illustrate price differences. Here we go:

These prices are based on a 1 person trip, just to make the breakdown more clear.

Cheapseats:

-Flight Only: $354.80 (round-trip)
-Flight and Hotel: $561.20

Overall Judgement: I found that this site was a little messy for me. It gets the job done as far as booking a trip, but the font is not good and I found it to be too small. The site did not feel me with excitement for planning my trip. The color scheme is mediocre at best, and I think that the site needs to look more welcoming and less headache inducing.


Orbitz:

-Flight Only: $339.80
-Flight and Hotel: $576.95

Overall Judgement: I liked this site. I thought it was welcoming. I didn't like the wait time between processing my request, but that could have just been my internet connection. The flight only is the same price here and on Travelocity, but the flight and hotel package is more expensive than Cheapseats and Travelocity. I'm focused for on a flight and hotel package so this probably would not be the best website to book through for that.


Travelocity:

-Flight Only: $339.80
-Flight and Hotel: $561.20

Overall Judgement: I feel like this site was cleaner and easier to navigate than Cheapseats. The only downside I found was the pop-ups at certain points during the process. The flight price was cheaper than cheapseats, but the flight and hotel package was the same.


Priceline:

-Flight Only: $339.83
-Flight and Hotel: $570.32

Overall Judgement: Immediately I was sort of turned off by the creepy guy plastered all over this website. This website has advertisements about it having the lowest.best prices guaranteed  but if you look at the price comparisons. The flight only option is more expensive than Travelocity and Orbitz. The hotel option is more expensive than Travelocity and Cheapseats. Another downside to this website is that I didn't see an option to search for a particular hotel when I wanted to add it to my flight, so I had to go through 7 pages of hotels until I finally found the one I was looking for. That is very inconvenient.


In conclusion  I guess there is no "perfect" website for booking a trip. It's a give and take situation. You just have to find out what you're willing to sacrifice. I hope this helps you in some way.

Until next time~

Wide Awake...Good Friday Edition

I made some realizations last night.

1. I'm stronger than I ever thought I was.

2. My feelings matter. 

3. My independence is worth more than anything. 

4. I won't be pushed, pulled or swayed in your direction. 

5. I need to learn how to be less forgiving. 

6. Sometimes I wonder if I'm just in love with the thought of love. 

7. I have amazing parents.

8. My friends mean the world to me. 

9. I need to learn when to give up the fight. 

10. I don't like arguing about things not worth arguing about.
11. I'm blessed to have gotten to know some pretty amazing people online.

12. I'm still maturing.....
13. I'm still growing....and that's okay

If It Comes Down To It.....

I'll pick him over you....

Are You...Living Life Happily? Part 3

I'm finally writing it...Part 3...this comes a day after Emi, Kat, Miya and Ka have gone back to Japan, but i'll get to that later in Part 4 or 5. I think that there is so much to write, and i'm kind of losing the order on when we did things, because we did SO much! So if I repeat anything...forgive me. lol

We went ice skating Friday 12/30 , which was a fun time, even if I don't really know how to ice skate. lol. I managed not to fall so that was a good thing. Yuta on the other hand ended up falling and taking everyone down with him. LOL I was so happy that I wasn't in his group. There is this place downtown where they make an artificial skating rink and that place at night is absolutely beautiful. They have lights on the trees and there is just this calming whimsical feeling about the environment that surrounds you. There is so really good food there and the people are all really friendly. During this trip i wanted to do things that I normally don't get a chance to do. You know, live it up to the fullest. It was a little difficult because of my toes, but i was able to skate a lot before it started to get uncomfortable. This was only the second year that I've done this, but I don't think that it will be my last.

this is what I call Winter-ready Yuta. I love his hat!

 We were looking for interesting ways to spend the last few days of 2011, ice skating was one and the other one was...we went on a dinner cruise on the Detroit Princess. It's a boat the cruises along the Detroit River. It was a lot colder than we anticipated it to be, but that didn't stop us from having fun. The food could have been a little better and since it was one of the last days of me being able to eat anything I want, I was a little disappointed, but it's okay because dessert after the cruise more than made up for it. LOL...It turned out to be super romantic for Miyako and Kaito though so I guess that's a good thing that came out of it. We all just left them alone and did our own thing.

New Years Eve was interesting, because we didn't do much at all. Everyone wanted to go out to a party but since I had spent so much of the last few days of the year finishing the year-end charts for work so I was kind of exhausted. My boss would have been pissed if he let me work from home and I didn't finish. He'd probably never let me do it again. lol. So we spent New Years Eve at my house with a few drinks, watching movies and playing Catch Phrase. This is the first NYE that I haven't been out doing something. I can't say that it was a bad thing because I actually had fun just chilling with the ones that I love. I think that as you get older, things start to fall into perspective and sometimes things don't end up the way that you think they should. You might one day find that staying in is just as fun as going out. Being surrounded by people isn't life anymore. Sometimes being with a few close friends could be just as great...if not a little greater. <3

The first day of the new year was spent with us meeting my parents and yu's parents for brunch, well it was supposed to be brunch but it turned out to be lunch because for maybe the second time in my life, our parents were super late, and I think it has something to do with them drinking the night before. It was hilarious because we were doing a face-time chat on our phones and yu's mom is like holding her drink and saying "you want some? huh? huh?" and she was tipping her drink towards the phone. I don't know how many drinks she had before then, but my oneesan is a light weight when it comes to drinking. lol. Anyway, so we had lunch and it was really nice to spend some time with the adults because we've been feeling like we were neglecting them, because we have been spending so much time hanging out with each other. They didn't really mind too much because like my mom said it allowed them to have time to do things that mature adults do, like go to wine tasting's and things like that. I'm glad that they got some time away from us crazy people. lol
We of course had the traditional new year's dinner which is always chicken, broccoli and black-eyed peas. Each dish represents something positive for the New Year.

As I've been rambling along and I doubt anyone cares about all of this, I decided that these entries are something that I need to write out, because I always want to read back on them and remember the times where I was truly happy. I hope that anyone who is reading this is happy as well. Until next time which will probably be in a couple hours....stay happy!

~Sierra

Are You...Saying "Happy New Year"?

First blog post of 2012! Woot! I hope whoever is reading this has a Happy New Year and I hope 2012 brings light, love and joy into your life! That is what i'm claiming for myself! This year MUST be better than last year. If you throw out positive, you'll get positive in return!  I'm grateful for my family and friends for pulling me through this year and not allowing me to give up...no matter how much I wanted too. I don't live my life for me, I live my life for the people that I love, because in a sense, I value them more than I value myself. Thank you for making me believe that I deserve to be happy and that i'm loved!

Mommy #1: Thanks for being the coolest mom around. We share so much of the same things in common and I'm truly blessed that I was brought into this world as your daughter! Thanks for only wanting the best for me and helping me in my search for happiness!

Mommy #2: Although I was not born as your daughter, you are so very important to me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving birth to the one friend who gets me like no one else does. The one friend that I know would never leave me. Yuta is a lucky guy...lucky that he has such a strong mother! I love you! Thanks for always telling me how it is...even when I don't want to hear it.

Daddy #1: I love you! There is  no one else like you! Thank you for being so supportive in everything that I do. You have never once told me my dreams were too big or too small. Anything I wanted to do you were always right behind me and ready to catch me if i fell. Thank you so much for that. There is no amount of money in the world to repay you for being such a strong backbone and support to me. Remember...I'll always make you proud!

Daddy #2: The funniest man I know. The most caring human being there is....that is how I would describe you. I know that you are always just one phone call away when I need to talk to you. I miss how it used to be when you were here all the time, but I know that you do what you can and I love you for it. Thank you for taking the time, money and energy to care for me like you do, because I know that you don't have too. You mean so very much to me, and I hope you never forget that.

Brother #1: There isn't much to say other than...thanks for being my brother. Although we might not always get along, I know that you are just doing what little brothers do....getting on my nerves! I love you and I know that if I ever needed anything you'd never hesitate to help! Love you!

Brother #2: My baby bro! We get along just fine right now, and I hope that it can always stay that way. I love you and you know that I'll always be here for you no matter what happens!

Yuta...my bestest! : Yuta..Yuta..Yuta..what can I say that I haven't already told you. You know just what you mean to me so i'm not going to lay it out on here. Just know that the decision that I made recently is turning out to be the best thing i've ever done in my whole life. Thank you and I love you MORE THAN ALL THE WORDS IN ALL THE BOOKS! (LOL)

Miya, Kat, Emi: You girls are my strength! Each of you bring a different kind of strength into my life, and if one of you were missing, I surely would not survive. I wish we lived closer! I didn't know that I could have friends that completed me as much as you girls do. 2012 means new things for us and I'm excited to see what Japan has to offer! I'll see you girls soon. Thanks for coming and making my house feel like a home! Love you!

That is all for now....I still need to make another post with the pictures from the last 2 weekends, but since this is dedicated to friends, family and the new year, I'll save that post for next time!  I love you all, and here's to an amazing New Year for ALL of us!

Sierra~

Are You...Living Life Happily? Part 2

Here is part 2 of the post that I promised to deliver a week or so ago. Things have been quite amazing. This visit from friends is unlike any visit before. Don't get me wrong....I love when it's just Yuta here, but having my girls here makes the experience that much greater. It's nice to have girl talks and watch romantic chick flicks and just be...a girl! I can't do all the girly things that I enjoy doing with Yuta so it's been an amazing experienced having my girls visit this time around! So....I can't quite remember where I left off so if I repeat anything...forgive me. LOL
We've been hanging out a lot...so much in fact that I believe it to be unhealthy! LOL...I actually got sick a couple days ago, but it didn't last too long. It's nice having people around to take care of you when you get sick!

Sweet Friends. Love them so much!

When I fell asleep I woke up with a fever so Yuta told me that I had to stay in bed all day. I didn't really mind it so much because he was there so I napped off and on all day. During my last nap, I woke up and I noticed that everyone was gone and on the pillow beside me was a note and some chocolate goodies. The note basically said that they went to go get food and they hoped that I feel better and Kat even made me tea that she put on my bedside table. It is the sweetest thing that anyone could do for me. They are always making sure that I'm comfortable and taken care of and I love and appreciate them so much for that. Oh, the note also said that Emiko wasn't going to drive so I shouldn't worry. LOL...there is a funny story behind that. In the next paragraph. We also went to a karaoke bar and had some fun singing and dancing with some of Yuta's family that is still here. His uncle and auntie are the cutest couple...besides Yuta's parent who are THE cutest I have ever seen...they have the kind of love that I aspire to have. 

So f'n cute!!!! <3

Okay, now...funny story about Emiko. So the other day we went out and I haven't been doing much driving because of my toes, so I've been letting everyone drive my car besides Kaito and Miyuki, because they don't really now the streets since it's their first visit here. It turned out to be Emiko's turn to drive, so we were on the expressway and everything seemed to be going smooth. We exited the expressway to go to the gas station and things went terribly wrong! This girl turned the wrong way down a one way street. People were blowing their horns and yelling out of their cars and Emi was freaking out and shaking. When she finally composed herself and we pull in the gas station she hit the barrier by the gas pump because she was going to fast. Needless to say...her driving privileges have been revoked! If I'm not driving then Yuta or Kat are the only one's allowed to drive. Emi isn't a bad driver, she is just used to driving on different kinds of roads. I forgive her for almost killing us. LOL

Yuta and Kaito <3

We baked some Christmas cookies yesterday, which was a fun time. Nothing like a bunch of silly people playing with baking flour and sugar. LOL. We made a total mess of the kitchen, but it was so much fun! I think that I've gained about 20lbshe last few months in t...no lie! It's really bothering me because in order for me to do the things that I need to do, I have to maintain a certain weight. I was never skinny, skinny to begin with, but I have what I call a "dance weight" where my weight can not exceed a certain number, because it becomes harder for me to do the ballet moves that I need to teach. If I gain as little as 2 lbs I can feel it on my toes when I try to do en pointe. So imagine gaining 20lbs...it needs to disappear. I can only blame myself because I took a term off of dance and that is a dangerous thing to do. I'm not getting adequate exercise and  I'm eating and drinking WAY too much. I'll be back on track after the New Year so no worries. It's just going to be hard to get toned again. LOL. My mom looked at me and she said "you've gained weight huh?" lol...thanks mom for pointing out the obvious. Yuta says that I'm still beautiful, but he has to say that and he's a total gentleman and sweetheart so he would never call me fat. lol...but standing next to Miya and Kat who are both 100lbs...makes you feel insecure sometimes. lol. 

Chocolate covered Oreos and the reason I'm gaining weight! LOL

There is a ton of other things that I want to say, but I think that I'll leave it here for now. I'll be making a part 3 either sometime this weekend or before the next. There will be some more post sprinkled in before though. These will always be my longer posts. 

Well, it's time to get back to the family and enjoy the time that I have left with them. I hope anyone that is reading this, is enjoying time with their friends and family and being as blessed as they possibly can be! Stay healthy, Stay happy, Stay wonderfully unique! Have a safe and happy Christmas!  

Lots of Love, Hugs and Kisses, 

Sierra~

Are You...Living Life Happily? Part 1

Wow...wow...wow! This last week has been BEYOND amazing for me! I don't think I could have asked for a better week. I hate that this only happens about once a year around Christmas time, but i'm so grateful for these amazing people who I have in my life right now. My girls from Japan are here and they are lovely and fun as usual. Emiko is what I like to call a "wild child" she's always ready for a party and she is never tired. She's the only girl I know who can jump off a 13 hour flight into another time zone and emerge from the plane with flawless hair and make up! She's always on "GO" and I love that about her. Katsumi is my "quiet-reserved-sweet-girl" she is the total opposite of Emiko which is why I think they get a long so well. She's a thinker rather than a person who just jumps into things. She's our little voice of reason. She's tiny but she has such a huge heart and once you're her friend she will lay down her life for you. She always wants to make sure you are taken care of before she takes care of herself. Miyako is my little "balanced-mature-girl" she is the only one out of us girls who is in a long-term, healthy relationship. Her boyfriend means the world to her and she means the world to him. They are sincerely the sweetest couple...ever. Miyako really balances all of us out. She's not a wild girl, she's not quiet...she's in the middle. She is the go to girl for relationship and life advice and I don't know where I would be without her friendship!

My party girls! Kind of wasted! LOL

For the last week we have been going non-stop partying and we've been eating...A LOT! lol. We've indulged in alcohol more than we probably should, but we don't drink and drive and we don't drink often so it's fine to let lose every once in awhile! We like to experiment with new foods and new clubs so this week has been quite an adventure. It's Miya's first visit to the States so we've had fun showing her all the hot spots and enjoying her reactions of amazement at every new thing we introduce her to. She has fallen in love with my home and I'm so happy! 

Drinking and having fun! 

I guess a downside to my week would have to be that on Wednesday me and the girls went bowling and there was this little boy. I think he was about 5 or 6 years old. I was talking to Emi and all of a sudden I heard "hey, lady" I turned around and this little boy threw his bowling ball as hard as he could on my foot. It took everything in me not to cry or hit the kid. I don't think I've experienced pain like that since I injured my back 5 years ago. The first feeling after pain was panic. I'm a dancer and feet are important for dancing. I went to the hospital and after 3 hours I was told that I had 2 broken toes. As a nurse I knew right away that for broken toes you can't really do anything about it but tape the toes to the toe next to it and wear hard soled shoes. I've been pretty much in complete agony, but I'm not going to let it stop my fun that's for sure!

One of the gifts from my girls!

Part of another gift! It was a Harajuku Lovers file set! 

So after the whole broken toes ordeal, we spent so time at my house relaxing because I was in so much pain i couldn't even think about going out dancing or walking...anywhere. I knew that Yuta, his parents and Miya's VVIP Christmas gift was flying in on Saturday so I wanted to be rested enough to show them a good time. Oh yeah, Miya's VVIP Christmas gift was her boyfriend! Yuta and I decided to split the airfare cost to fly him out here for a few weeks. It was such a surprise to Miya. I knew that she was missing him a lot because they haven't really gone a day without seeing each other since they started dating 5 years ago. I'm glad we were able to keep it a secret from her. The look on her face when she saw him was PRICELESS! I wish I had my camera because I should have gotten a picture of it. I'm glad that she was happy and I'm glad that I was a part of both their first trips to the States. 
I'm going to leave it here for now. This is only part 1. I congratulate you if you were able to read this all the way through. I'll try to post part 2 within the next few days. It's kind of hard with so many people visiting, I have to spend time with my friends and my lovely family. This is my favorite part of the year and with 2011 coming to an end and a possible move to Japan in 2012 for 6 months to a year. I think that next year is going to be a year that I will never forget. Next post will highlight changes in me and Yuta's relationship...anticipate it :) 

Are You...Wishing?

Today was a rough day for me...I'm still having thoughts about Lee and today my mom didn't make it any better. I haven't mentioned to her that I've been thinking about him a lot lately so her comment caught me by surprise. I was on on break at work and my mom and her friend stopped by to bring me lunch since I had to take my car to the mechanic during my lunch hour. There were sitting in my office and my mom was brushing my hair and we were just talking randomly about my job and what we were going to do this weekend and then my mom just said "You know, she is going to get back together with Lee." Then her friend started asking me questions about his sister and if I've talked to him lately. It took everything in me not to break down and cry. 
My mom loves Lee...a lot. He was really the first boyfriend that she approved of and finally seeing me happy...made her happy and that's why when it ended...I hid it from her as long as I could, because things haven't been the same since. I don't smile as often...I'm depressed more. It's just bad, but how can I make it work? Her saying that simple statement nearly broke me down. If we both thought it was possible for us to work it out and adjust our schedules...then we would, but we can't see that right now. I really miss him though and I just hope and wish that it gets easier.
Two of my girls from Japan are coming into town on December 10th and I'm so excited for girl time! It will be just me and the girls until Yuta gets here on December 18th. I haven't seen my girls since I was in Japan last year. I really miss them and I'm glad that they are coming to visit me! 
In other  news..... since I've become so unhappy and depressed here and my parents are extremely worried about me...I might be moving to Japan....well, not forever ....but I'll probably be there for 6 months to a year. I'll be staying with Yuta and his parents. I think it could be a good change for me and I have a lot of friends there that can help me get out of this hole that I've seemed to have fallen into....
I'll keep you updated.....