I was on Southwest on my way home for the holidays and stumble across this article, "A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self."  I quit my job for my 30th birthday and I pulled this stunt before for my quarter life crisis but that is another story.  So I found this article quite intriguing.  When I was 16, I was this insecure girl and thought the world was against me.  So as I pulled out my iPhone and start typing to my 16 year old self, everything just came through.  I start to realize how great my life is.  I mean, I am not exactly where I want to be, more importantly, I am truly grateful for how far I've came in a mere 15 years.  The reflection was remarkable and I strongly encourage all of you to try it out and see where it takes you.

What will you tell your 16 year old self?  Is it worth reflecting? 

Here is my letter:

Dear 16 year old Sandy,
Remember that boy you have been crushing on and wondering if he feels the same way for the past 3 years? Well, he does and loves you even more than you can ever imagine and  he married you and such an amazing husband. The resentment that you have with your parents for needing you help and keep you from being a "kid" will all dissipate because your mother is wise beyond her years and you will be able to empathize with her. Your dad loves you so much, he was broken as a child and is did everything he knows to provide for this family and kept us all together.

You will finally move out and passed the torch to Denny and he will make you so proud. He is able to get his own home and start his own life. He may struggle with his demons but looks up to you for guidance.  Alax will be a little arrogant but he has his reasons and will make you proud because he is absolutely witty and smart.  Gigi and you will finally get along and have more chutzpah than all three of you put together.  She find her own independence and living her own life.

You will grow more closer with the elders and they will look to you with respect and love beyond what you can ever fathomed. You get to be part of their intimate conversation and see you as their confident, be supportive and respectful to them because they always love you for who you are.  You're family is one of your greatest blessing.  Not only your cousins supports you in all the crazy mishaps that you leap towards, they will give you unconditional support.  All those crazy emails you send to them, will only get more insights into their lives and you will feel so blessed to have such honor to share a piece of your life with them.  Even though you moved out, they take a time out of their life to talk about you to their children and that is one of the best feelings in the world.
You will also meet your match and he understand that your not crazy and calls you out.  He will challenge, enlighten and inspire you where no one has before. He will prove to you that everyone deserves to fall in love deliriously and butterflies in your stomach is essential.     Remember your soul mate from 7th grade, she will come back into your life and feel the exact same way about you and you two will become each others rock. You can be outspoken with her and speak what is exactly on your minds without the other person thinking you're too arrogant and think you're better than everybody else.  You guys can just be you with each other.  She not only spoils that crap out of you and introduce things that you probably will not see in your lifetime but most importantly you're each other's personal cheerleader.  She will become your family and offers you your second home in Vegas.

You will also find another companion and that combines you and Duc together. He is always there for you and understands your needs. When your down he knows it and will go out of his way to make you feel better and more importantly he will turn your house into a home. You both will have unconditional support for one another. Most surprisingly, you will be spoiled by him and your husband.  You will understand even though all of us are struggling to put a stamp in this world, the loyalty created in this home is the greatest foundation.  Somehow life is good and money is not that important because you have great company and great times.

Even though you have been brainwashed to make as much money as possible, you will soon realize all the money in world cannot buy all the companionship, dedication, support and love that you and Duc have for each other. Because money can't make up for all the crap the both of you two went through.  Because of love, that is why you believe in sticking it out and really see a partner in life in one another.  Money is a bonus but to find a partner that is willing to tough anything out with you is priceless.  So marrying for love will pay off because he will make you laugh when you get mad, he will hold you tight when you get sad and most importantly he will show you love and kiss you on the forehead just because.

No more stressing about living up to other people's expectation. You will do just fine with the pathway you took. It may be a lot of ups and downs, tons of roadblock but all worth it because the experience, love and support. Keep pursuing your curiosity because even if it could possible be never fulfilled but that drive is what keeps you thirsty for more. You will have some of the best companionship that you can ever imagine and that's what they mean when the little things count. Simplicity is bliss and your husband will relentlessly remind you how to apply that to your beautiful life. Keep taking risk and grasping on each opportunity. There's more out there for you and will only astonish yourself more with the courage and perseverance to be the best and this time you know it is only for yourself.
I love u very much and trust me you will be more than just fine.
Love 31 year old Sandy

I am obsessed with this website, pinterest.com  My dear friend found it and now I am addicted.  Simply said this is a virtual vision board.  Well, at least I am using it that way.  I can spend hours just pinning down any pictures that inspires home project, outfits, cooking ideas or simply like looking at.  It seriously put my soul at ease and I feel so inspired even though in reality I am literally sitting on my butt! It is similar to Tumblr.

With all the images, you can also organize your boards according to category.  From Outfit of the Day to Tips and Tricks.  People can either select Like or they Repin it on their board.  Plus you can comment on it the images as well.  It is flexible and easy

So I encourage all of you guys to check it out Pinterest.  You have to be "invited" but it's simply, just put your email address and in a day they allow you to sign up.  Here are a few images, that just had me at hello...

It always been an uphill battle throughout my husband career.  It was 2004 and  I needed a ticket to move out after graduation and he was ready to pursue a new career.  We packed our bags and head to Florida for pilot school.  We both know at that time we did not want to get marry yet even though we dated for 7 years.  I know that no matter what happens to us, I want to go on this adventure with him.

An adventure it definitely was, we both left great paying jobs to pursue this dream.  I wanted something new and step out of my comfort zone and he want to pursue what he dreamed of becoming.  Unfortunately, after one license the school closed down and we were in a deep financial hole.  Luckily the bank was willing to put in more money to prevent all the pilots from filing from bankruptcy.  Long story short, he finally got all his license and now flies commercially for a regional airline.

On our 10th year anniversary, I finally said yes and now I am a pilot's wife.  It wasn't all that easy at first.  We went to both our junior and senior prom together, we worked in the same place and we both have a business degree.  So we saw each other all the time.  When he stayed back in Florida and I moved back to Nevada, it was one of the most challenging times in our relationship.  Surprisingly, the 2 year long distant end up making our relationship a lot stronger.

Absence does make the heart grow fonder.  We were forced to communicate and really build on our trust factor.  We were not the marrying type, but eventually my husband needed insurance and I wanted to enjoy the flying privileges.  Now, I absolutely love being married!  I think a sense of humor is vital to any relationships and my husband is definitely a very funny man.  Trust is a huge factor, I mean, the man has a free hotel room.  It is so easy for him to prowl plus he can take off the next day but it works both ways...he's never home.  Hee hee...jk Skype is our best friend!  Respect is another great factor in our marriage.  Being a pilot is out of the norm and we work with the scheduling and the finances and when we respect one another, it's a lot easier to be empathetic. The best thing is that we found our independence.  I can't always wait for him to come home to fix the house so sometimes I just have to get down and dirty.  And as I get to learn more about myself, we learn to appreciate one another.

How do you manage a healthy marriage?  What is the best advice you ever received for a relationship?

So as I am trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, I am honing in on all my hobbies.  Besides food, I have a love affair with wine.  It's quite exciting because once I think I have it all figure it, it will draw back and give me another subtle surprise.  So I decided to set forward and check out the International Sommelier Guild.  I took the Wine Fundamentals of I & II and let's just say, the class kicked my butt.

As an atypical Asian, I was not very good at math or science.  In fact, my cousins use to belt out the Chinese Anthem, (well more like the HK pop anthem, since we were all born in USA, that is the only one we know) emphasizing how I have embarrassed our race because I don't know how to solve for X.  But in my defense, compare to my white friends, I was still good enough in math where they cannot tell the difference but I digress.  I was not at the top of my class and did not aspire to be in the medical field.  In fact, the only stereo-type I fit in is that I am a horrible driver.  What I am trying to say is the I am not the studious type but this class was so intense that I had to really read to stay on top of things.  It paid off because I did passed the Wine Fundamentals I & II and looking forward to the Sommelier Diploma Program in the fall.  

The class is 6 hours long and only once a week on Sundays.  Our instructor Heath Huidt is relaxed and extremely knowledgeable.  We crack open on average 11 bottles each class.   The test are not too bad, they are multiple choice but the most difficult part is the essay.  Wow, I felt like I was back in college again.  I must say, the hardest thing about this class was not studying or testing.  It was learning how to spit out the wine.  But once you can blind taste the grape and guess it correctly, it's worth it.

Fine dining has become less and less rigid, with all the foodies and celebrity chefs, it has finally become a state of pleasure and enjoyment.  Plus being a female, its awesome to strut into the "all boys" club, just for fun.  Women are the majority wine drinkers.  And the labeling, they are not made for guys, they are geared toward the ladies.  Plus, our palates are more sensitive then men, so it only make sense for us to ease into this industry.

Knowledge is power and 'Life is like wine, the longer you take to enjoy it, the more chance you've got of tasting vinegar.' I will keep you guys posted and we will see where this takes me! Here are some books that I enjoyed reading while I was taking this course.

 

If you don't know who Pucca is - she is this adorable little girl that is becoming a media franchise.   This is basically a Restaurant Sim and it's free for you iPhone and Android.   She is cute and with some time management and you can add friend - it's devouring my down time.

The objective is to take a start up whole in a wall to a full blown five-star restaurant.  As you gain experience and unlock goodies, you gain a bigger staff and to help serve and cook your food.  Time management is key because your restaurant is open 24 hours.  And if you don't have food, you won't get good reviews.  The tutorial is a little bad so remember to move or place any item, touch the bottom and 1 quick tip to help start up is to store you door.  Once you put your door in storage, you can prepare your meals ahead of time and not worry about running out of dishes every minute.

The social content is great too!  You get to add your friends and they can give you money.  There is also a Yelp like style of rating each restaurants.  You can see on your local map on who you are up against and how are their decor.  It's like the real deal.  But be very careful not to accidentally trash your food because sometimes 16 hours of food will be gone and you will have to start all over.

Plus as a foodie - you can get real recipes of all types of Asian cuisine at the palm of your hands!

I LOVE breakfast.  It's my favorite meal of the day and I am not even an early bird.  Something about the golden ooze into crispy buttered hash browns makes my palate squeal for joy.  The best part it that it is so easy.  I am, in a way, a traditional cook.  I don't measure for the life of me.  In fact my motto is, if it taste great, enjoy every morsel.  If it taste horrible, you will never have to eat it again.  My husband is still on my case of making this amazing lamb stew that I can no longer replicate.  But I do know that he will always remember each savory bite.

My husband, roomie and I are foodies and aspiring epicures.  From breakfast to dinners and snacks, we like to go all out and experiment the fundamentals and pleasures of eating and cooking.  This morning I made breakfast in 5 minutes and everything was in my pantry.

Ingredients for 1 serving:

1 egg
1 English muffin
1 wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese
Handful of baby spinch
Salt and Pepper to taste.

First you boil water for the egg and just put a teaspoon of white vinegar.   Once the water is boiled, gently crack open the egg and let it poach.  While the egg is poach, you can just put the spinach in the water.  You can use a slotted spoon to take out the spinach so you can strain the water.  Toast the English muffin and spread laughing cow cheese one it, then pile on the spinach.  The egg should be done by now and you put it on top of the spinach.  Crackle some salt and pepper and voila, breakfast is served!  So try this recipe and let me know what did you tweaked to make it better


Enjoy!

Building a home is by far one of the most fulfilling thing that I enjoy doing.  It is the rite of passage of establishing yourself.  I remember going to TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross and I will browse the clothes and shoe section.  Now, I dart straight to the home section and with patience and a color palate for guide, I created my living area.

We bought a foreclose home and it's true that people leave it a mess! We had missing light fixtures, holes in the ceiling and dirty dirty floors. The inside house came painted this Tuscan yellow color. It was everywhere except for the bedrooms. I am more a cool hues type of girl, so I was having a tough time deciding how to best work in my personality. Thanks to HGTV Rate My Space I can get opinions and inspirations on how to build my home. From color palate to style, it just feels good to come home to something that you built from ground up and that is something to be grateful for.
The internet supply a wealth of frugal ways to decorate your home, mine was done under $1500 and that includes furniture. With some time and a little patience, you can do it too.

Negative energy is like deadly virus outbreak to destroy the human race.  You're probably infected by it without realizing it.  Are you tired of routine?  Are you not where you want to be?  Is this what you imagine life to be?  Can you do better?  These are all symptoms of negativity of doubt.  It is so easy to complain.  All I am saying is that it is very easy for us to sink into negative mode.  This is how I get back on track, by going back to these basics.

What do you find easy and puts a smile on your face?
Seems simple but these two go hand in hand, this is how you find your passion.  If you enjoy what  you're doing and you can do it flawlessly, you naturally take pride in it and it shows.  Fun leads to happiness and being happy means you find fulfillment. It comes down to the basics and the rest will follow.  Once you find out what you love to do, you don't ever have to work a day in your life.

Keep those you love and those who inspires you near
We all could use some affection and by being around people who makes us feel good and want to better ourselves, is one of the easiest ways to pick ourselves back up.  Either way, we want to make ourselves feel better.  Being in a relationship with people who are successful motivates you to follow the pack.  We are always looking for leadership and inspiration and keep your circle with these people makes it easy to expect the best for yourself.  Take care of yourself, emotionally, physically and spiritually is the fundamental of centering yourself.  And if you're center, naturally people want to draw that energy from you as well.   

Create a vision board or wish list
Now more than ever we are keen on multi-tasking and the best way to collect our thoughts is creating a wish list or vision board.   It's a reminder when we get side track in our busy world that we have a reference.  Whether you need pretty and inspiring pictures or eloquently written words, they both are great daily recalls of what we need to focus on to achieve our dreams and desire. 

Just do it
Like Lao Tzu quoted,  "a journey of thousands miles begins with one step."  Each night, before you go to bed, make a list of things you need to do the next day.  Identify two most important things that you have to do each day and...just do it.  I guarantee the minute you start doing it, you will look back and say, what was I waiting for?  I should have got this going eons ago!  Once you get the momentum going, everything will come sailing in.  Be a "doer" and commit yourself, once you accomplish each task, you naturally feel more productive and enriched.

Envision
When you want it bad enough you can conceive the possibility, and you will make it happen.  This empowers you and work as a wonderful reminder of what gets you going.   When you visualize the end in mind, you have a goal to aim towards and that is the key motivation. 

We have all been down and out before and it's easy to blame circumstances on others.  I am here to tel you to take ownership and remember everything that you put out will always come back to you. 
So stand ground even if everyone else finds it easier to just quit and you keep on persevering, that is true strength.

I get my inspiration from The Secret and The Power by Rhonda Brynes.  I truly believe in the message that she is trying to convey.  I admit that I do get side track but that is life, you take matters into your own hands and take control of it.  We must not be so hard on ourselves but we also keep our head up and keep expecting best for and from ourselves.  We are completely responsible for everything we put into our life. Take ownership and own up to our mistakes.

 More in depth, try reading Secrets of the Secret