when i drive myself, my life is found

christmas was bitter-sweet this year. amazing. but bitter-sweet.

christmas day, keiko and i woke up to bake butterscotch cream cheese bars. then when kiki and mits came back, we calmed mama takahashi over and opened presents! it was so joyful! and exciting! i do not have anything to compare with, but they seemed to have cleaned up! especially mama takahashi! she seemed happy! and i think keiko and mits enjoyed their presents that i got for them! :) so then the young nobu got his last present, which was an electric guitar! and boy was everyone excited!

i think i found a new christmas tradition. :D

we rushed to get ready to go to a lunch at an sgi member's house. and as the rain came down, nobu, keiko, and i waited and chatted. the food was delish! especially mama takahashi's vegetarian casserole and oden. mmmm, her oden is amazing! the bbq chicken was alright and the salmon wasn't even worth trying. after some more dessert, some pina colada, and some spanish speaking, keiko and i left. and went back to the village. keiko was tired so she napped and i cleaned the kitchen. and before we knew it, mits came back from the airport with isamu! :) aww! and we all played with kiki.

after some rest, we headed out to waikiki to eat at cheesecake factory. during our 85 minute wait, we did some shopping. and keiko found shoes for her dress [clap clap]! and decided on a cute wallet with buttons! mits found a dress too! then we ate and headed home.

the next day, the 26th, keiko and i went to pick up nobu and then met up with mama takahashi for lunch at pietro's, somewhere i've been waiting to try! i had their mushroom doria and it was yum. and luckily, i was able to pay for that because i really wanted to thank mama takahashi for all of her help and food. she is a great cook!

then keiko, nobu, and i went to get shave ice at shimizu store. and their syrups actually taste like their flavors! gotta go back! anyhow, we dropped off the young one, and ran some more errands at best buy and costco and long's drugs.

when we returned, we started baking our favorite chocolate delight and before we knew it, shiro had come home from the airport! mind you, i had spent a couple of years with him at sua but i never had an actual conversation with him! so it was a lot of fun! then chany came with isamu and mits and we started to chow down with mama takahashi's home made tempura! gadzooks, it was a feast! and chany really showed me love just by being there! so i was excited that my threadless shirts finally came so that i could share them with mits, keiko, and chany. :) and we reminisced. and took pictures. and then sent chany, mits, and isamu off. before we did, shiro offered to take me to the airport. i was shocked. i just did not expect it. but i agreed.

then i set off to finish packing. and i said goodnight to keiko; i was really sad. :/

in the morning, i made sure to get up early enough so i could say bye. and luckily, i was too wired to be too sad and i think she was too tired to be sad. so she left and then shiro came and helped me with my bags and as we drove to the airport, we talked and that was cool.

i flew for 5 hours and 7 minutes. and after my warm cookie on-board the flight, i was ready to get off. so i carried my 50 and 56-lb bags to the curb where my brother and mother awaited me. we drove home. and my dad was there. and there was a whole lot of commotion. and then the parents went to the gym and thien needed to shop for the parentals. so we went to target and best buy.

we met up with the folks at souplantation at 7. and feasted. and then drove home to open our family's christmas presents (they waited for me to open them!). and it was great fuuuun! everyone got something great! they got me a new camera! i was shocked and felt bad! but i accepted. and hoped that they liked their gifts from me!

then i went over to see the bff.

and then christmas was over.