I wish I could say I know more Japanese...

...but we really didn't learn an ounce of Japanese besides mimicking the sounds around us.. "Namasayoooooooo" and remembering how to say thank you by reciting the song, "domo arigato, mr roboto" (domo arigato means thank you). No one even says "konichiwa" (hello), so we felt like morons anytime we entered a store or a restaurant because we were at a loss for a greeting. We felt like konichiwa is some sort of practical joke played on Americans where it doesn't actually mean "hello" but rather, "I am an ass" or something. We said "HI!" a lot, which is completely idiotic because in Japanese "hai" (which sounds the same as our hi) means "yes". We were roaming around town saying YES to everyone! Go us!

So yeah, we were pretty much S.O.L. and had to memorize symbols which was nearly impossible - house, house, swoopie thing, elephant, fork - ok that must be Shibuya!!! Cross your fingers!!! Oh, and don't let anyone tell you that EVERYONE in Japan speaks English. It's a complete LIE. We could barely talk to anyone. I only heard three people speak english, several attempted a word or two, but that's it. In a way, this was kinda cool because we could talk about whatever we wanted on the subway and no one knew what we were talking about. "That girl looks like a man - new half!!!!!!" ("New half" explanation to come)

Other than our pathetic attempt at a new language, we managed to learn a LOT about Japanese culture, food, fashion, and art. I will be posting several separate entries about each of these topics. Any other way and this post would be waaay too long and you'd all fall asleep. So get ready to see some WILLLLLLLDDDDDD stuff. Okay maybe not too wild, but pretty darn cool, I'd say!

First up: Japanese (and some Korean!) Food.

VIP Status

Got this card in the mail today...from THE WHITE HOUSE! How cool am I?

Bridal Shower

On April 24th, my mom threw a "Favorite Things" bridal shower at Apple Farm. It was the cutest party ever. She really made the day so special for me. We started the party with mimosas and yummy potatoes, quiche, and the BEST sausages ever. Sometimes at bridal parties, the games can be really cheesy and dumb, but my mom picked out the best games ever, thanks to Ellen!! First we played "Guess Jaime's favorite things" where my mom held up signs with my favorite things on them. I had to describe the thing and each team had to guess what I was describing. She had my favorite movies, books, music, tv shows (LOTS of Tv shows), blogs, and lots more. I don't even know how she knew all that about me, but it was awesome! Helya and Rachel really blew everyone out of the water :) ORYX AND CRAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The second game was the purse game where my mom made a list of things you might find in a purse. The winner is the girl with the most things on that list. Mary won because she had weird things like several two-dollar bills, 50 cent pieces.

Pretty cake.

Jillian surprised me with this super cool travel kit. She put clips of our invitations on the back and filled the suitcase with lots of goodies like paper soap (perfect for Japan because their public bathrooms dont have toilet paper, soap or paper towels, ech!), travel lotions and soaps, trailmix and candy, a cute tote, a fold up bag, a passport cover, and on and on and on. It was the neatest gift!

Helya was my gift hander-over and card keeper.

My grandma sent a gorgeous bracelet that my Grandpa got for her in Australia in the 90s. She passed it along to me for my wedding. I can't wait to wear it!

Rachel got me a really pretty bowl and vase. See how awesome I think it is?! She also made me my very own Shutterfly photo album of "Rachel and Jaime's Greatest Hits" Photo books are pretty much my favorite things ever! Hey mom, you shoulda used that one!

My aunt Lisa and her lovely Serene came all the way down for the shower too. I love having Lisa around because her kind and gentle spirit remind me of Ladonna and thinking about Ladonna is a GREAT thing!

Here's the group sans Kaity, our photographer! (Who took some incredibly wonderful pictures that I am so grateful for!)

Grandpa's girls:

Steve's mom and sister Mackenzie. So glad they came to meet everyone! And oh my gosh they spoiled me rotten!


3/5 maids:

Let's hope we can take a normal picture together at the wedding! Even though I LOVE this picture :)

The aftermath...

Thanks to everyone who came all the way to SLO for my shower. It was so meaningful having you all there. And thank you for the LOVELY gifts! If I mentioned them all here, this post would be ten pages long, so thanks thanks thanks for everything! Helya I'll be wearing your gift at the wedding!!!!

Mom, thank you so much for throwing me such a perfect bridal shower. I am so lucky to be your daughter. Your one and only daughter who is getting married in a week!!!! TIME TO PARTY!!!!!!!

Drowning in Lotion

I can't believe I'm here already. I'm that cream girl. The girl I didn't think I'd ever become..at least not until age 50. But yep, I am that girl who uses 457 different lotions and face creams because I love me a good gimmick. Actually, I have a bazillion things "wrong" with my skin so I had to find multiple products to keep me sane. I could have chosen tanning beds or laying out at the beach, or even plastic surgery, microderm abrasion, or a wicked chemical peel. But instead, I chose to save my skin from harmful UV rays, and put 100% of my faith in CHEMISTRY (Yes, that's where lotion comes from!)

So, instead of tanning, I am using Jergens Natural Glow. It seems to be working well so far (I'm not orange yet!) I also regularly use SPF 15 facial moisturizer and if I spend any time outdoors I either wear a hat or slap on some trusty SPF 65.

Now if only Jergens Natural Glow would naturally make my skin look flawless, I would be set! But, I have to use ProActive Repairing Lotion for those pesky zits on my face. This stuff is magic though. I rub it on the red bump, and within two days it is completely gone and never even had the chance to get really nasty.

Last, but not least. My new favorite lotion is Dr. Brandt's V-Zone neck cream. It is a miracle worker! My least favorite part of my body is my NECK. Yes, my goose neck! It's always wrinkly and if I don't hold my head just right in photos, it looks like my neck is melting into my shoulders. I read an article that said a girl in her twenties is not supposed to have ANY neck wrinkles, and that deep wrinkles like mine shouldn't occur until age 40-60! WTF neck?! So, the only thing I could do besides Botoxing my neck was to buy insanely expensive neck cream. But, let me tell you, this stuff works!! After about two weeks of using it twice a day, my wrinkles have diminished dramatically and my entire neck is a lot tighter. There are still some bad lines, but it is a major improvement!

So, how long does my creaming (ew) routine take? Not long because I have small bones, but its about 100 times longer than my old routine, which included NOTHING.

There you have it. Now, go slather yourself in balms and emulsions, stay out of the sun and tanning beds, and thank me later!

Bachelorette Mayhem!

When you think of "bachelorette party" what comes to mind? PENIS?! Yes, that's what I thought! Helya definitely made sure there was plenty of penis around...and what's better than the real thing? Blow up penis and whistling penis of course! *hi mom!

The weekend started out with breakfast and mimosas at Schooner or Later with Helya and Heather.

After a quick drive to San Diego, we were welcomed by the hotel valet and a gorgeous room! Helya picked the best hotel ever because it was next to a MALL! So of course the first thing we did was go walking around the shops while we waited for the other girls to arrive.

Once everyone else arrived we took a shot of vodka and skittles and went swimsuit and champagne shopping!! When we came back, we were surprised by a fruit and cheese plate and our FAVORITE reisling waiting for us in our room! I opened the card and found out that it was from my mom and phil to help us celebrate!!

I'd say one of my favorite parts of the weekend was getting ready all together, snapping photos and sipping on champagne. Within minutes there were clothes strewn about, make-up everywhere, curling irons, hair dryers, and LOTS of Aquanet!

We made our way down the Gaslamp Quarter to The Shout House, a dualing piano bar, where we had a VIP Bachelorette table all decked out right in front! Best seats in the house! The night started out calm and cool, but soon we were finished with two bottles of champagne and onto our second pitcher of beer!

The pianists were AMAZING. They knew EVERY song that was requested - even Lady Gaga! They put on a great show and made the whole night an experience I will never forget. I even had to get on stage a couple of times to play "head, shoulders, boobs, and butt" and I even had to stand up and yell, "You Bitch! You Slut! You Whore!" by myself in front of everyone! haha!

The next morning we got up early to get ready for wine tasting! We picked up sammies at Subway and felt like movie stars as our limo picked us up out front of the hotel. The limo was stocked with wine, MORE champagne, OJ, and water. The hour+ drive was the most fun I have ever had! We listened to fun, girly music, drank mimosas and enjoyed the luxury of being in a limo! We stopped for lunch and then headed to our first winery.

I honestly can't even remember the names of the wineries we went to besides Ponte Winery. Partly because of FRED! But besides yelling "PENIS/DICK/CHODE/PEINER/INSERT WORD OF CHOICE HERE" every time I blew my whistle, the one thing we all said/heard the most was "BABY PONTE!!!!!!!!!!!!" hahaha I am SO glad we got to keep our wine glasses because every time I use it, I am going to yell that.

The ride back to the hotel was even more interesting than the ride there because we were all a few glasses of wine deep! You can see all of the fun we had singing, laughing, and drinking MORE!

We were planning on using the hotel hot tub when we got back but it was out of service. The moment we got back to our room, Heather started the bathtub and her and Shannon were in their swimsuits and hot tubbing right there! We all sat in the bathroom and chatted while they soaked and by 9:30 we were all tucked in and most of us fast asleep

Sunday we had a farewell breakfast and went our separate ways. Heather and I stayed with Joanna one last night in Costa Mesa and got to use her REAL hot tub! Wahoo!! It was a fantastic way to end a wonderful weekend.

Thank you Helya for putting together the BEST party ever. I will be forever grateful. And thanks to everyone else who helped Helya plan! AND most of all, thank you Heather, Helya, Joanna, Shannon, and Tylia for spending your entire weekend with ME to celebrate! It means the world to me that you came. You are all my best girlies and I wouldn't be me without you. Your friendship and love inspire me, and I am looking forward to continuing the party in ONE MONTH! xoxo

HI!

My internet is FINALLY back - blogging will resume shortly.....

Spring is here!

I know I'm a little late, but SPRING IS HERE!!! YAY!! The best part about spring is the FLOWERS. Oh my god our fruit trees have been blooming like crazy. Lots of beautiful white and pink blooms. I love the way the trees wake up in Spring and stretch out their sleepy arms to say, "HELLO! I'M HERE!!"