elitejean.blogspot.com

Yay! Recent Happenings...

2012-02-05T14:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday

Updating because it's been a loooong time
Hope everyone is having or had a wonderful weekend

I'm actually just going to do a personal update this time. I think I have a few of you added on my twitter & facebook accounts so those people most likely saw these already I'm sharing them anyway because people like Kin-chan (social media hater? lol)...wanted to see them specially a recent pic of myself so I'll add a couple to this post
Again, it's mostly going to be food. Hahaha!

BOTTEGA LOUIE (DTLA)

Popular because of their patisserie...specially their macarrons I think I posted about them before. I usually get the "earl grey" one they have there with some gold leaf. They are just so pretty and tasty I usually get my macarrons from this place, if not then Lette's or Little Next Door

Lots of other yummy desserts to choose from I love their chocolate souffle Not pictured here but you can order it at their restaurant though there's a 15 minute wait for it. It's worth it though because they bring out the souffle all nice and warm and oh so yummy

So...went here with my cousin Karen and my best-friend Meredith to have late lunch and just chit-chat. Since it's a few blocks away from my office I sometimes go here for either lunch or dinner. I come by for their sweets too when there's ArtWalk and stuff

Green Tea Mojito! My fave drink at BL

Lately, all I've been drinking are mojito's I ask for them in almost every restaurant I go to lately specially if they have a bar. I don't really know why though. I thought I'd be more into wine since I started going to wine bars with Syl. I dunno...I'm just weird I guess. Hahaha

Gourmet Pizza We got them half & half. The left side is BURRATA: burrata, grana parmesan, rapini, garlic, extra virgin olive oil & prosciutto di parma. The one on the right is MUSHROOM: Fontina cheese, fresh mozzarella, crème fraîche, shiitake mushrooms, garlic & Italian parsley. Delish

My cousin Karen is not just a patbingsoo lover but also a seafood pasta addict so we ordered this too. It's "clam linguini". They used surf clams, some roasted garlic, garden herbs, italian parsley & white wine broth. The pasta is nice and smooth and it smells really nice. I can't resist that combo...

What I ordered...it's BL's beef short ribs It's braised and they serve it with some lardon ragù, white polenta, sage & ricotta. It's tender and creamy I had them grate so much cheese into this Grated cheese on top of melted cheese. Hahaha!

My cousin Karen had to rush home after that so Meredith and I decided to get some cocktails

We headed to a nice rooftop bar near Pershing Square that I frequent.

PERCH (DTLA Pershing Square)

Meredith had the "My Fair Lady" (Left) it's french cosmo w/ fair quinoa vodka, cranberry, fresh lime & crème de peche. I settled for the "Jacques Collins" (Right) it's boudier saffron gin, fresh lemon juice, simple splash of soda & saffron. We were probably there for an hour or so just chatting and enjoying the night view. Meredith isn't much of a drinker so in the end I drank hers too I decided to take pics with my phone but they're mostly crappy I'm going to post them anyway XD

Crappy pictures are crappy. The view is fantastic though.

An hour later Karen contacts us and tells us she's downstairs and to hurry so we rushed down and surely enough she was there...in her car, stopped in the middle of the road and it's a green light Hahaha! Meredith and I start laughing like crazy again We drove to Xai after all that where Nathaniel (manager of Basic Pizza Lounge at San Diego) is waiting

Xai Verandah Lounge (LA's Sunset)

I come here for brunch sometimes and lunch but it was my first time having dinner there At night it looks and feels like such a different place. When I come here during the day it's more laid-back but at night they are completely packed which I didn't really expect

Haha! Mojito again This one from Xai is made with mint, sugar, ginger, lemon & soda water. I didn't like their mojito that much It's more into the ginger side. I kinda wished I ordered Lassi instead

Even though I already had short ribs at BL a few hours ago I decided to get short ribs again at this place Xai's is called "Braised Short Ribs with Moroccan Seven Spice". It's served with whipped yukon gold potatoes, carrots & broccolini with plum wine reduction It's very tender much more than BL's but there are certain parts of the meat that tasted vinegary specially the once with that jelly like thing (like tendons I guess). Very yummy though

Karen tried their "Grilled Pacific Salmon" It came with some couscous with sauteed squash, preserved lemon, grilled veggies and the salmon had a moroccan bbq glaze. I didn't get to try hers but she said that it's quite good

Meredith ordered a delicious sandwich with chicken and it came with fries. For dessert she got their traditional baklava. They're quite tasty I like how their flaky and the nuts are really good too

Karen got a crepe I don't remember what was in it though She split it with Nathaniel. I had a traditional dessert that had rose water in it but I can't remember the name I snapped a pic but it was dark in there so it was blurry as hell Hahaha! Nathaniel ordered some lamb for dinner that night at Xai

Meredith's boyfriend Nep picked her up after dinner so Karen and I drove to Korea Town with Nathaniel following us in his car. We ended up at "Yellow House Cafe" again

I think Karen had hazelnut latte, Nathaniel got what I recommended which was the sweet potato latte. I settled for some hot fruity pomegranate tea. We just chatted about work, and the things we've been up to lately...we parted ways around 1AM I think

The next day Karen and I hung-out again The plan was to have lunch at Santa Monica Beach then dinner at Beverly Hills. I made the reservations so Karen doesn't know where we're having lunch although I did tell her about our dinner plans.For lunch I took her to Huntley Hotel's The Penthouse...and she loves it

The Penthouse

(Huntley Hotel - Santa Monica)

My friends introduced me to this place late last year for my surprise post birthday brunch. Been here a couple times after that for their sunset hour Even though they don't usually sit 2-people in a private cabana (because they usually reserve them for groups of 4 or more) they let us...we had to wait 30 minutes though but it's fine cause Karen was still doing her make-up anyway So instead of waiting outside we decided to wait in the bathroom (yeah, cause the cousin is doing her make-up). Bathroom is nice and clean and the last stall boasts a lovely ocean view

(The four images above are not mine. I wanted to show how our cabana looked. It's the one on the first pic)

The private cabana's are darling and there's a cute little chandelier too and the view is amazing Went here on a Sunday afternoon so we got clear blue skies and a fantastic view of the ocean and surrounding buildings

Above is the view from our cabana.

Below is the table setting and the food!

CRAB CAKE ♥

Smoked Tomato & Shaved Celery Hearts

CRISPY SKIN SALMON ♥

Sautéed Spinach, Ratatouille, & Tomato Saffron Broth

PROFITEROLES ♥

Warm Pastry, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream & Hot Fudge Sauce

also,

MOLTEN LAVA CAKE ♥

First it was the "crab cake" (I always get these when I go there). It was crispy outside and juicy inside and...NOT imitation crab. That makes me happy Because there's grapefruit on it the crab cake doesn't taste oily and is actually rather refreshing and light We ordered the "Crispy Skin Salmon" after. The salmon itself was just average but the sauce that went with it was great For some unknown reason I can taste mangoes although I don't think they used any For dessert we had the profiteroles (another item I always get here) and molten lava cake. The molten lava cake was very chocolatey and good but the profiteroles are definitely so much better for me The ice-cream between the crispy puff pastry was cold, creamy and rich yet not super sweet There was some chocolate drizzled on top but they actually give you more in this little container (hot fudge sauce) so you can drizzle as much chocolate as you want The chocolate was just the right amount of sweetness and has a bit of bitterness which goes along really well with the vanilla ice cream

After lunch we hung around at the lounge We were thinking of staying for sunset hour at the bar but we had to go because we had another reservation waiting for us (The Bazaar by Jose Andres). Here's a pic of me waiting at the lobby

After looking at the view from their windows we couldn't help but go to the beach after and watch the sunset Karen and I decided to brave it The hotel is just a block away from the beach anyway

Karen and I are too overdressed for the beach

Haha! It was hard trying to find space to write XD

There was so much footprints by humans, dogs and birds!

This wandering seaweed is bigger than me XD

Took the pics with my phone (as always).

My hair was a wild mess after tha

t XD

After watching the sunset we drove to Beverly Hills!

The Bazaar by Jose Andres

(SLS Beverly Hills Hotel)

(The six images above are not mine. I wanted to show how it looks inside. We sat at the "table for two" on the right side of the last pic.)

Definitely best to come here maybe once in a year that way the magic doesn't wear off. I have an SBE card so I usually visit Cleo (including The Library Bar), The Bazaar and some of their other establishments. Don't know if it's because of the card but service there is always great The waiters also know the menu very well so they're able to explain the dishes properly to the guests specially first-time visitors This is one of the places where the bill usually amounts to $900...seriously and tip would be around $120-$130

Food & Wine Menu

View on my left side.

The table next to us.

Service is quick We were promptly seated in a nice quiet little space just as I requested Because I've been there a quite few times before somehow I got used to how the place looks and the food too I guess. It was Karen's first time there though so everything was amazing to her from the decor and ambiance to the food

That evening we ordered the following:

(Left) Philly Cheesesteak: Air bread so Karen was really surprised Wagyu on top and warm melted cheese on the bottom. The wagyu was tender and flavorful. I always get this and the other cheesesteak on the right. (Right) Hilly Cheesesteak: Air bread too and almost the same as the other cheesesteak but instead of the wagyu it's mushrooms. I love mushrooms so I always get this The cheese and mushroom go really well together. It's light and a good way to start the meal

Embutidos Platter: This comes with "Catalan Style Toasted Bread with Tomato" I'm not sure how other people eat theirs but whenever I get this or their other hams I always put them on the bread There are 3 different kinds of sliced cured meats.

Mediterranean Mussels: "latas y conservas" Vinegar-y. Interesting cause it's served in a can. I use it as a palette cleanser It's a little oily but the mussels are yummy

Japanese Tacos: Taco Style Unagi Sushi. The unagi is soft and the chicharon is crispy The cucumber has a nice texture too so eating this is fun specially for people who love texture play in their mouth

Sauteed Shrimp: The shrimp at least is not very tiny. It's got a nice texture and smell to it. Must be the garlic. Karen loves this dish

Croquettas de Pollo: Don't let this get cold! Eat this while it's still warm! That's the best way to enjoy this dish. Inside it's nice, warm and creamy My mom and sister love this one It's somewhat homey too

Grilled Wagyu Flank Steak: Very good Well, that's all there is to it.

Magic Mojito: Ordered this because I figured Karen would enjoy the little cotton candy show She did and she loves this drink It's good but I've had better mojitos elsewhere

After all that we were escorted to the Patisserie.

Charming space

They have a lot of little sweets to choose from

It's around $3 & up a piece

Traditional Spanish Flan: Love theirs cause the taste is closer to the flan I'm used to eating when I was younger so eating theirs makes me a bit nostalgic It's one of the tastes I grew up with from my childhood The flan is not like the usual smooth (watered down) one you find at most restaurants.This flan is heavier also richer It's sweet but not sickeningly sweet. I'm not sure if it's the milk their using but this flan is definitely delicious That's why I always get this flan whenever I go there!

The servings are small but since there's a lot of different ones you get pretty full It's interesting because the dishes are creative and unique The decor is great. Pretty lights, beautiful furniture and a very attentive staff As usual, the manager that evening dropped by our table about 3 times. The first one when we were having our meal at the dining room to welcome us, the second time was when we were waiting for dessert at the patisserie..she wanted to check if everything was alright. The third time was also at the patisserie and it was just to chit-chat

After dessert we looked around their little gallery/shop then we hung-out a bit at Bar Centro Love the built-in TV on the long table that plays old Hollywood movies I noticed that a lot of couples sat at that area

We were at The Bazaar from 6PM all the way to 11:30PM

Here's a pic of me again at the patisserie with my "beaten by the ocean" hair

Anyway, it's back to work Monday tomorrow
I'm off to catch up on animes, dramas and some manga
Do tell me what you've been up to
Til my next post! Happy Days

2012-02-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

I know. This post is looooong overdue XD I'm sorry. Well, it's better late than never. The Ikuta Toma and 2NE1 wallpapers I'm working on are not all done yet so those will be posted some other time. Below are K8 wallpapers. I made them with a lot of space for icons just as requested. A few of them were requested last year and have been sitting in my computer for months XD The person who requested probably forgot about them already. Well, it's a waste not to share so here they are. There are different sizes for most of them. The ones that I made earlier only have a 1024x768 size. As much as I would like to re-size it, I no longer have the psd file. Hope you'll enjoy them anyway!

As always, Do NOT Copy, Modify, Steal.
Please click thumbnail images to download/full-view!
Enjoy them! Credits are always nice.

I'm in a bit of a rush today so I won't type much and just get the images posted.
The sizes will be typed below each thumbnail to avoid confusion.

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"NO TEXT" VERSION
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"WITH TEXT" VERSION
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1024x708 ONLY! 1024x708 ONLY!

That's it for this weeks graphic update!
The rest of this pics below are my usual recent random food-spam.

SYRUP (DTLA)

Pattern Bar
Syl's Birthday

Providence
8-course Tasting Menu
Syl's Birthday

After work dinner with friends at
Lucques

Chaya (DTLA)
Work Lunch

Drago Centro (DTLA)
Work Lunch

StillRoom (Pasadena)

POP Chocolate & Champagne Bar

SCENT Coffee & Flowers

***HOLIDAYS***

My office window at work.
I put the greeting cards I got this year on my office blinds XD

Retail Theraphy at
Hollywood/Highland
Christmas Shopping!

**Xmas at Burbank**
I didn't get to take pictures of all the food and desserts
because I was busy chatting up my cousins XD
It was a lot of fun though!

INK (Melrose)
New Year's Eve

Westin Boneventure Hotel
After-work dinner and drinks with Syl & Carter

Aio Coffee (LA's Korea Town)

Wolfgang Puck's
WP24
at DTLA's Ritz-Carlton Hotel

**OTHER HAPPENINGS**

Was LOL-ing like a boss when I took a spill last week (wearing the glittery heels pictured) after having dinner out with friends XD I didn't break anything (Thank God!) but I ended up with 2 big scratches on my leg and a nasty looking boo-boo on my right ankle. No heels for me atm so I switched to my sparkly flats instead!

Tiny fair in my neighborhood started up so I checked it out last night!

Taken right under the ferris-wheel!

I'll end it with Aiko-chan <3

I'm off! I need to get ready!

I'm having late lunch later today at Bottega Louie, cocktails at Perch or Drago Centro and dinner at Xai. Tomorrow I'm going to Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. I'm having lunch at The Huntley Hotel's "The Penthouse" followed by some retail therapy then dinner at "The Bazaar" by Jose Andres (SLS Hotel Beverly Hills) then some crepes to finish the weekend at Harajuku Crepe. Hope everyone is having a great weekend too! Take care!

Arashi Solo Wallpapers!!

2011-12-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

I was going to post these up yesterday night but I got home pretty late so I decided not to. Anyway, here is another batch of Arashi wallpapers. It's solo's of each member this time. I decided to make some of them in three sizes. If it works out I'll start releasing wallies in those three sizes regularly. I've been feeling awful lately. Don't know if it's because of the recent crazy LA weather, stress from work or my terrible lifestyle and habits. I'm going to quit rambling now so check-out the wallpapers below and have fun using them!

43 Items on this post!!
Do NOT Copy, Modify and Steal.
Click on thumbnails for larger view and to download/save.
Comments are Love^^ Credits are nice!!

AIBA Set

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I love the Aiba pic on the left!! Someone sent them to me but since I deleted the messages on my inbox I can't remember who XD If it's yours let me know so that I can give proper credit^^

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Another pic sent by the same person who sent me the pics for the previous wallpaper. Anyway, she sent me two scans from this magazine. I was thinking of blending both of them together but I think it looks better like this. Anyway, if anyone knows where I can get the rest of the scans from this magazine then please let me know because I want to make more wallies out of them! Also, I love that floating lanterns pic <3 I used them on last week's stuff too XD

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A surprisingly easy to make wallpaper! Originally, it was just supposed to be the frame with three slots but I liked 4 pics and I couldn't decide which one not too include so in the end I just chose my fave one and put that out of the frame. I like the colors...it's coral-pink! It's chilly now here in LA so looking at this kinda warms me up^^

MATSUMOTO Set

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Made this a long time ago!! I wanted a simple wallpaper that has a lot of clean space for desktop icons. To make it more interesting I turned Matsujun's eyes blue so that it would match the cloud themed background. Another quick to make wallpaper^^ I really should post tutorials but I don't think I have time and also I don't think anyone is interested.

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Made this earlier this year so it's old!!
I found the image on google and I just went crazy with it XD

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Making the text took longer than putting together the other stuff on this wallpaper!! I forgot how to make the text kinda like glass so I kept experimenting with settings and stuff. I remember doing this text for some NEWS wallpapers before. Now that I think about it, I kinda don't remember how to do it again XD I re-colored the rose to match the purple color-theme then I copied it 4 times and blended them together to get the rose fame effect.

NINOMIYA Set

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From early this year. This is supposed to be a scrap one, a random practice piece. I'm kinda just trying different things but I decided to include it on this batch anyway so if anyone is interested then just grab and enjoy^^

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It glows XD Well, it's a moving...err, flashing wallpaper. I have no idea if it will work for everyone but it works on mine. The eyes and the text flash every 0.2 seconds. I was originally going to turn this into a horror type wallpaper with Nino saying something creepy but I got lazy XD I'm still working on it though, I have two scraps of it. One is a ghost theme and the other is a murder sort of theme. Anyway, let me know if the flashing works. If it works for most people I will post the Arashi-group flashing/moving wallpapers next time!!

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Made just the other night.
It's quite similar to the Matsujun wallpaper I posted above^^
I re-colored the eyes to match the text.

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I was looking for Sho-concert pics in black when I randomly came across this pic.
I kinda remember making something similar to this before.
Anyway, I added some glowing trump symbols/signs.
I really like the "Come Over" text that kinda wraps as a frame^^

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BONUS. Nothing Special.
If anyone has pretty Gantz scans please send them over!!
I only have that one so I made it as a wallpaper for my laptop XD

OHNO Set

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I cannot get over how cute he looks in a business suit!!
"HELLO" theme because he's on the phone...lame, I know XD
I added some fish too and some water splashes^^

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I love the pic and the text^^ I think it goes perfectly well with Riida's personality! All the scans from this photoshoot had a delicate/fragile feel to them. I swear it made me want to cradle him like a baby XD

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Another scrap piece that ended up as a wallpaper.

I was trying out some new PS texture tricks.
This one features Japanese characters of Ohno's name.

SAKURAI Set

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Scrap piece again that ended up as a wallpaper.I love the girl on the swing!! I originally wanted to make wallies in black with lots of light texture but I couldn't find a pic. I have a couple on my computer but I've already used them before. If anyone has gorgeous scans of Sho-chan in black (bg)...please send them over...specially the ones from concerts!!

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Quick 5-10 minute wallpaper. Simple. Love the quote!
I lightened his eyes just to make it more interesting.
I made this last night.
My current wallpaper on my desktop btw!

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Something simple and clean.
Love the text on this one too.
Also made last night^^

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The last wallpaper I made last night Xd
I know, I repeated it too much...
Can you spot the kitty in this pic?

That's it for this week!! Next week will be Kanjani^^
All items are/will be cross-posted to my blogspot, deviantart, multiply and flickr account!!

Once again, here are links to:
my tumblr
my twitter

To those who missed last week's update, here are the links:
ARASHI Group Wallpapers: http://elitejean.livejournal.com/21339.html
My Food-Trips and Aiko-Kitty: http://elitejean.livejournal.com/21629.html

Food-Trips and My Kitty Aiko!!

2011-12-05T01:56:00.000-08:00

Sunday night, err morning!! It's almost 2AM and I have work tomorrow XD
I've been re-watching movies all day with my sister^^
Livejournal is still under attack too XD
Because I'm bored and not sleepy I'll post pix of my recent food-trips and my kitty Aiko^^

MALBEC
Argentinian Bistro

Nice ambiance. As the name suggests, they serve Malbec wine. Don't forget to order it!! It goes really well with their meat dishes^^ I wanted to try the desserts but we only have a 2 hour reservation and with all the chit-chatting (I went with my family/cousins) we forgot about the time XD Total for the evening was close to $400.00 including the gratuity and extra tip.

Hands down the BEST DAMN THING on their menu!!
The steak was juicy and extremely flavorful.
The veggies that came with this dish was also nicely grilled.
The tomatoes ....were amazing!!

Breaded beef cutlet topped with cheese, tomato sauce and salami.
Sides: Mashed Potato and Steamed Veggies
The sauce and the cheese was really yummy^^
As for the breaded beef cutlet I think I prefer the Japanese and Korean kind more XD

I fell in love with it when I first saw it....but after eating it I was disappointed XD The pasta and the sauce itself was great but the seafood toppings....specially the mussels were awful!! I do not know how mussels can taste that awful!! I would have sent this back to the kitchen but everyone was having a good time and I didn't want to make a fuss.

5 Minute Bowl
Cheap Eats -- Galleria Market

When I first ate at this place I thought the prices were ridiculously low. It might be because I usually eat around DTLA that's why I'm used to having $16 pasta but the dishes here were below $10! Huge servings too^^ They were also extremely delicious...much better than some other more expensive Korean restaurants I've been to...and it's a food-court!! My gosh, now I eat there whenever I'm there getting groceries XD

Zion Food Court
Cheap Eats -- Zion Market

Bigger selection than Galleria Market's^^
Servings are huge!! I cannot finish everything!!
I love how they have Japanese and Chinese food there too.

You probably can't tell but they serve 2 pork cutlets that are about the size of someones face or bigger. I had to get a take-out box because I cannot finish more than half of it XD The katsu was fried to perfection. Crispy outside and juicy inside^^ The sauce that came along was slightly sweet yet spicy.

Basically, Korean style spicy beef soup!!
My sister usually gets this and it's really flavorful^^
It's spicy but it's so yummy that you can't put down your chopsticks XD

Mom tried this for a change cause she usually gets Korean soup jelly from another place. She was craving short-ribs that night and this hit the spot^^ It came with tempura too and Korean style noodles so there was a lot of variety.

A couple pics from when I went there with my aunt's and my cousin cause they wanted to get groceries from Zion too XD There's Squid Bokum, Bibimbap and a lot of other things^^ It felt like we were having a banchan matsuri of some sort because of all the side dishes that came with each order. Hahaha!!!

Hwa Sun Ji
Tea House (LA's Korea Town)

After taking them to Zion for groceries and dinner we headed to this place. 6 People: My mom, my younger sister, my cousin + 2 Aunt's and myself. Instead of taking them to a cutesy cafe I figured they'd appreciate a more laid-back place with a calm and peaceful atmosphere. The place serves lots of teas. We all got different ones. I got lotus that night.

Out of all the "patbingsoo" I have ever eaten, this is probably the most gentle tasting one I have ever eaten. I do not know if it's because of the ambiance of the place or something else but that's what it felt like. It had watermeon, honey-dew, red bean, green tea ice cream, etc. I felt like I was eating a yummy yet extremely healthy dessert. I'm the type who likes sweet stuff a lot so this was a sudden shock and change to me. I think people who prefer desserts that aren't too sweet like pastries and cakes will appreciate this a lot more than I did.

It goes well with any tea XD By this I mean that you can add this tea to any tea and it would smell better and taste yummier!! It's very pretty and it smells really great too. I kept adding it to my lotus tea XD

I know what jujube's are. I've eaten them before mostly in Korean and Chinese dishes. My mom and one of my aunt's tried this tea and it was just "Wow!" It's a very rich and surprisingly sweet tea. If I could I would have tried to put milk on it too. I'm definitely getting this one the next time I go there^^

FREE!! When you ask for your bill at this establishment they will serve you this before giving you the bill. It's roasted so it smells great^^

Great place to just relax and unwind. You can buy tea and cups too. They have a private room so you can request for that if you need to. There's a lot of teas to choose from!! Take note that this place is Asian/Korean, it's not English style High-Tea so there are no scones and sandwiches on the menu. They do have traditional sweets like biscuits with green tea and such.

Little Next Door
French Brasserie/Gourmet Artisan Marketplace
A few blocks away from "The Grove"

One of my fave brunch spots in LA and also a celebrity hot-spot^^ Eggs, croquettes, and whatever else...I have never been disaappointed!! They serve my fave french style lemonade too!! Wine and cocktails are also served in this restaurant. They do not take reservations!! The restaurant next to them is the famed LITTLE DOOR (takes reservations) -- perfect for dates and comes with a steep price tag!! (They are sister stores. Valet Parking!!)

I had dinner there with my cousin Karen after a busy day at work on a Friday night. I must be lucky or something because I never wait at this place even though there are no reservations. I heard other people wait for an hour or more. I've had brunch there plenty of times but it was my first time having dinner there with Karen that night so I was certain that we'll wait but when the garcon/monsieur saw us after we got off the car he just let us in right away XD

Service was prompt. We ordered about 10 minutes after we were seated. Before our orders arrived we were served the usual warm french bread with dipping sauce (olive oil/balsamic vinegar/herbs). The food we ordered was served about 10 minutes later. Everything is made fresh the moment that you order it. They use organic ingredients and they get their produce from local farmers/growers. The staff (as always) are polite and knowledgeable about the menu items and the wines.

Crunchy thin salted french-fries with herbs and a delicious grilled skirt steak with green peppercorn sauce on a Friday night!! It was exactly what I needed as a reward for week of hard-work in the office^^ In this LJ entry it's a great rival to Malbec's skirt steak. The fries were done just the way I like them and they're real potatoes too!!! Instead of some french red wine I paired this with Lorina's French Lemonade^^

Shrimp and scallops on a bed of organic hand-made fettuccine^^
Huge pieces of shrimp and chopped scallops in red sauce.
Super delish with a glass of white whine^^
Beats out Malbec's "Tallarines Gulfo Nuevo" anytime!!

Yellow House Cafe
LA's Korea Town (Oxford)

True to it's name...it's a Yellow House near the corner of Third and Oxford (near Western). You have two seating options...indoor and outdoor. Indoor seating are mostly for people who came there to study. They are in the main building inside a brightly lit room with plenty of tables and chairs. Outdoor seating is well, obviously outside XD It's an open area decorated with a lot of foliage and pretty lights. They also have firepits to keep customers warm during fall and winter. Karen and I chose to sit outdoors right next to a firepit and a stove^^

Karen and I started laughing when we saw this because the "heart" was extremely faint XD

I burned my tounge when I drank this XD Hahaha! It was yummy though^^

Compared to other places in Korea Town the fruit patbingoo here uses flavored shaved ice. It reminded me a bit of "Ice Kiss" because of the colorful fruity cereal flakes. They use strawberry ice cream and theirs have kiwi, banana, strawberry, peach, watermelon, etc.

I don't have pics of how the place looks like so I grabbed these off google:

Arashi Sushi
DTLA (Near Staples Center)

The first time I tried this place it was solely because of the name XD I went there for lunch before when I had some work near Staples Center. Anyway, I ended up visiting this place a second time with my cousins Michael, Karen and my younger sister. It was raining that night so the restaurant wasn't very busy. I made reservations so we were seated promptly. Our orders arrived quickly too. I brought my camera with me that night but for some unknown reason everything I took that night came out blurry so I gave up. I should have just used my phone but I was low on battery already!! The place was dimly lit except for the sushi counter.

Shrimp and Scallop Dynamite (Mayo)
Flavorful, creamy, nice texture!!

Can't remember what this one is but it had scallops.
I remember that it was yummy.

Nigiri with Gold Leaf Gold leaf....not needed XD
I think it tastes so much better without it!!
Compared to Sushi-Go and Sushi-Gen, they're nigiri just doesn't hit the spot.

Can't remember what this is called either but as you can see from the pic it has avocados and salmon on top. Inside there's crunchy shrimp tempura. We ordered a few more things that night but since my camera was acting-up I gave up taking pics. Since their sushi wasn't as good compared to other places I've been to we stuck with their robata-yaki's. It felt a lot like we were at an Izakaya.....made me wish that we went to Fu-Ga instead. One good thing that I really liked was their yougurt-sake...it's also only $3!! Prices are decent and food is decent. I'd come back again but I'd avoid their nigiri sushi.

SYRUP
DTLA (6th/Spring)

I wish they are open til 2-3AM. They close at 12AM. I always come to this place a few times in a week because they have desserts, coffee and plenty of games. It's fun even if I go by myself because there's a lot of people to talk to. This adorable place is right across "The Los Angeles Exchange", "The Falls" and "Spring Street". All clubby and drinking joints basically. It's a couple blocks away from my office too^^

My usual^^ Heck! No one can resist nutella with some banana and strawberries!! Even more when it comes with a crispy yet soft liege waffle and a scoop of creamy and sinfully delicious french vanilla ice cream!!

I love "Harajuku Crepe" over at Beverly Hills but in DTLA this crepe is just extremely awesome!! Inside is nutella with plenty of mixed berries drizzled with chocolate sauce and a scoop of french vanilla ice cream.

Hard to tell but there's green tea and rocky road ice cream under.

This is my quick go-to place when I'm craving for something sweet at work. Besides this one my other go-to place is "Bottega Louie". I wish they had more floor space though. They're popular at night so it gets crowded extremely fast.

Antique Cafe
LA's Korea Town

Their fruit patbingsoo is a little close to "Yellow House Cafe" except for the ice cream flavor and the flavored shaved ice. Huge serving so about 2-3 people can share^^

I ate a ton of stuff that night so I thought I'd give my tummy something gentle before I head home so I settled for this. It's really delicious. I'll order this again when I come back^^

Hae Jang Chon
LA's Korea Town

Korea Town's Top AYCE BBQ restaurant. Went there with my BFF Medz and we just ate, ate, and ate!! We ate so many different types of meat. Not pictured are the honey-comb, beef tounge, squid, octopus, etc. I love eating them wrapped in thin radish slices with some veggies and sauce!! Will definitely come back here again soon!! They serve kimchi fried rice at the end of the meal^^

IOTA Cafe
LA's Korea Town -- along Western Avenue

They have hand-drip-coffee...and it takes a while for them to serve it. By the time you get your coffee you will be done with the dessert/pastry/cake you ordered XD I've been here a few times and I honestly think that this place is over-hyped. It's popular because the interior is well lit and nicely decorated. It's an open space with indoor/outdoor seating sorrounded by glass. Also, there's a lot of pastries to choose from. The downside is that most items taste about average. It's not bad but it's not really very yummy either. The servers are very nice but they do not understand the menu very well. Prices are of your typical Korean cafe. Coffee is about $2-$3 more than Starbucks.

Novel Cafe
Near LA's Wilshire/Western Subway Station

Went there for brunch. The clam linguini was only $14!!
They also have breakfast burritos and they're fun to eat^^

Mazatlan (DTLA)

I've never gone there to actually sit down and eat. I only order delivery from them once in a while and I always get the one pictured above. The pork-chops are super yummy!! I love how it's tender in the middle yet the edges are somewhat crunchy^^ Great to eat with the diced tomatoes!!

At Burbank with my Family/Relatives^^

Grandma cooking and Grandpa pretending to watch (while stealing food).

This is what grandma was cooking on the picture above.
The best kare-kare in the whole world!!
This tastes so much better than the ones I get from the restaurants.

Pan-fried noodles called "Pancit"

Veggie Stir-Fry XD

I have no idea what this is called.

No clue what this one is either.

I love this!! Grilled Squid^^

I love Salmon!! Uncle Peter made this one and the one below^^ The one on top has ginger and herbs while the one below has mayo and some other stuff. Both are extremely delicious!! I wish I can cook as well as he does^^

Mom went to a filipino restaurant and bought these. They are called "Puto Bumbong" (I hope I'm right) and they are eaten with "niyog" (grated coconut). They are sold when it's almost Chritmas time...I think XD I'm sorry, I don't eat much filipino food other than when we have family gatherings and someone in my family cooks them specially my grandma and uncle Peter^^ I do love pork sinigang and beef nilaga!!

Thanksgiving at Burbank
Simple Traditional American Fare

This year we had a no frill Thanksgiving dinner. Compared to the other years we didn't run around as much. We decided to keep it simple. Everything was cooked by my uncle Peter except for the elbow pasta with meat sauce, my aunt Lyn made it.

Gone after 60 seconds!!

We had 2 turkeys this year^^ It would have been three if Michae and Daniel were with us but both are off in different countries doing their own thing XD

My uncle Joseph messing around with the turkey heads.
He kept photobombing with the turkey heads the entire night XD

There is something strange about this picture.....

My plate^^

Random Eats

I love the bottle!! It's so adorable XD
I use both Gom and VLC to play videos^^

Taiyaki Ice-cream!! Vanilla Ice-Cream and Red-Bean Filling!!

ODEN!! My sister made it^^

NABE!! My sister made it too^^

Something that I can make XD I'm talking about the yakisoba.
It's one of those few things that I don't really fail at making^^
I always eat it with french pastries from "Paris Baguette" or "Cake House".

My Kitty -- Aiko-chan!!

Glasses and Mustache Aiko!! LOL.

Sleepy Aiko <3

Sleeping Aiko!!

Haha!! Her pose amuses me XD
I bought her a toothbrush to play with^^ She really likes it!!

I dunno but she does that pose lately when I take pictures of her XD

I was trying to take a picture of her but she keeps going to the side of my phone and staring at me XD Her nose is so cute!! Her eyes are so cute too!!

That's about it for tonight!! I am going to try to get some sleep because it is now 2AM and I still need to wake-up early tomorrow and get a few things ready before heading to work. I wish everyone a Happy Monday!! Bye-Bye^^

My Tumblr.
My Twitter.

ARASHI Group Wallies + BONUSES!!

2011-12-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

As promised...here is the first batch of wallies that I'm sharing!!

PREVIEW*PREVIEW*PREVIEW

Hope you like them^^ Comments are love!!
Do Not Copy, Modify, Steal!!
Click thumbnail Images to Full-View, Save, or Download.

Left: 1280x 800 Right: 1024x768

I had a lot of fun making this one^^ The theme is sunset! You can somewhat see the dusky sky on the right side. I really like the sparkles too! Originally I was going to make this into a fire theme of some sort but I couldn't remember how to do the fire text XD Just when I was wondering what to do, I came across the light song text so I decided to make it into this instead^^

Left: 1280x 800 Right: 1024x768

This wallpaper has been sitting in my computer since spring!!! I made it for myself to use as a somewhat refreshing summer wallpaper for my work laptop. My office-mate who saw it said that it reminds her of "Zest" soap-bars! Another said it's "Bacardi Limon" XD The water background alone took about an hour to make. Believe it or not but those are actually 14 different water textures and drops that I had to modify and re-color so that they'll match. It was fun to make though^^

Left: 1280x 800 Right: 1024x768

My first time making a marquee like text. I think it turned out well. There are lit bulbs and I also added burned-out bulbs. Each bulb had to be put one by one and re-colored to match. I also added a spark-like texture to make it look like the bulbs are about to burnout. Each letter had to be modified to look like a container type of box too. Everything else after that was easy including adding the main Arashi image, the city back-drop and the damask pattern. I'm thinking of using this text effect to make a red colored Christmas theme wallpaper.

The next set of wallies have 4 different versions!!
I originally ended up with #2 but then adding the color-rays to make #3 gave it a pretty nice punch so I tried making a simpler bright one with just that and came up with version #1. I tried playing around with it more and the end product is #4.

Left: 1280x 800 Right: 1024x768
(#1) COLOR-RAY VERSION

Left: 1280x 800 Right: 1024x768
(#2) SPARKLES/FLARE VERSION

Left: 1280x 800 Right: 1024x768
MIX of #1 AND #2

Left: 1280x 800 Right: 1024x768
FINAL GALAXY VERSION

Here is a PREVIEW of my next update!

Although not pictured, there will be Sho-chan wallpapers too!! I usually work in AMNOS order when I make Arashi solo wallies so Sho-chan's always ends up last XD Also, there will be around 3 different wallpapers for each member!! I most likely will be done next weekend so please drop by again when you have time. The week after that will be Kanjani 8 btw!!

To everyone who dropped by this LJ entry..here's a little BONUS for you!!
I did not include it into the preview but I hope that you'll like them^^

OHBA Washing Machine RABU Wallpaper!!

Left: 1280x 800 Right: 1024x768

Phone Wallies!!

I have an android for so the wallpaper size for my phone is different. My desktop screen is 1920x1200 and the other one is 1280x1024. If you're leaving a comment it would be great if you can tell me the resolutions for your desktops, laptops and phone XD I want to make graphics in sizes that a lot of people can use. Just in case anyone is wondering, since I work in the Fashion District my wallpapers are usually shots of printed fabric swatches XD

I'll update later with my personal pic-spam!!
Lots of Aiko-kawaii-ness and foodies too!!

For updates you can check out my twitter, tumblr and deviantart^^
ID for all three is: elitejean

Happy Days!!

Meme, Pic Spam, Wallpapers!!

2011-03-06T18:58:00.000-08:00

**MEME**

1. Make a list of 5 things that are in reach:
Knit Vest, Floor Lamp, MP3 Player, Calligraphy Pens....My Cat XD

2. What is your nickname(s)?
Peach (by Family Members & Relatives)
Jean (Most Friends)

3. Download or buy CD/DVD?
Download and Buy^^

4. What's your occupation?
Executive Assistant and Apparel Buyer

5. Dark, milk, or white chocolate?
White Chocolate

6. Who was the last person you hugged?
My Sister XD

7. What random song just popped in your head now?
Nee by Perfume

8. Bath or shower?
Showers cause it's faster!!

9. Summer or Winter?
Winter!! I can't stand the summer heat XD

10. What websites do you always visit when you go online?
Gmail, AOP & OPM, constant Contact, and lately...LJ again^^

11. What was the last thing you bought?
Bologna & Jalapeno Cheese

12. If you could afford to go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Somewhere near the Mediterranean Sea

13. Dramas or Anime?
I started with Animes but lately I've been watching more Dramas ♥

14. Where's your tattoo/Where would you like a tattoo?
None at the moment but if I ever get one I want some sort of star or an inspirational word/quote on my wrist or shoulder.

15. What are you doing this weekend?
Watching movies at home with my sister and getting delivery.

16. Sho double parka or Aiba-length pants?
Double Parkas...It's hard to pull-off Aiba-chan's cropped pant look without looking like a complete midget XD

17. What's the one thing you need the most now?
Dressers, Cabinets, a Bookcase....well storage and shelving units basically XD We just moved and some of our stuff are still in boxes. My clothes don't fit in the closets even though I have 2 huge ones XD I already ordered them online though last Friday night so I just have to wait for them to get delivered some time next week :]

18. Are you a creeper?
There are times....

19. What is your dream job?
Detective, Hospital Staff (Doctor or Nurse), Social Worker XD Well, recently those are what I've been thinking about. I work in the Fashion Industry right now and I quite like it but who knows...I might just up and leave it. I'm still young so I think there's still enough time for me to make a new path for myself. Maybe not now but in the near future I want to do something more fulfilling and helpful to others than what I do now.

20. What's the last good movie you saw?
"Symbols" (2009 Movie w/Downtown's Ma-chan from Hey! Hey! Hey!)

**ABC Seafood**

Went to China Town with my bff (Meredith) and we ended up eating at "ABC seafood" cause her dad told us that dimsum's are cheap there and the food is good. We were seated promptly and after 10 minutes a huge group of Korean ahjumma's were seated next to us. It was kinda fun...they had a little party affair going on with some champagne so a lot of giggling went on.

Deep Fried. It was very crispy and it went well with the sauce. It was quite big and long...I remember Meredith having a hard time turning it over to get to the other side XD

It wasn't anything special. Too much coating in my opinion.
We had a lot of this left-over so I took them home.

Piping Hot and Sizzling. It got me excited^^ It was also quite delish!!

We ordered a bunch of other ones but I didn't bother to take pictures anymore because my hands were a bit greasy XD But...it was indeed cheap there cause an order of shumai's (2 or 3 pieces) were around $2. It's not the most delicious thing on the planet but for the price it was decent and fairly good. I wouldn't mind going back here to eat dimsum's next time.

**Issen Joki**

My hide-away in Little Tokyo. As I've mentioned before there's only one server there...it's obachan XD Went there with my bff (meredith) before we got groceries from H-Mart. As expected, the place was close to empty. I like going there because of that. It's terrible of me but I want to keep this place all to myself. The food is alright but what I really like there is the feeling of solitude. Going there by myself relaxes me. There's no one around so private conversations feel more deep and meaningful too.

hat Meredith got. I kept stealing her tempura...

Was crispy and the sauce was good. Ordered it because I watched V6 eating this on their show that same day and I started having an extreme craving for it XD

Ordered this because I felt like eating some after watching "Begin Japanology: An Introduction to Japan's Soba"

too a picture of the "tsuyu" because the heart-shaped spring onion was adorable to me XD only to me XD

Because it's good and cheap so we ordered it too^^

**Thai BBQ**

Went with Meredith cause it was near her dad's house. I just realized that whenever I go out with Meredith to eat she always becomes the server. She divides the food and everything while I just sit there, stare and do absolutely nothing XD She doesn't seem to mind though. Well we've been bff's since HS so I think such a thing is perfectly fine besides she's good at it so why change :]

What I had. It was good and there was a lot of sate so I ended up taking them home. What is really yummy here? The pork-ribs...Meredith ordered them for herself and I kept eating them too XD I would have taken pictures of the other stuff we got but we were having a very deep and personal conversation that time so it wasn't appropriate to do so.

**Home Cafe**

I spend a lot of Monday nights here with Meredith. Sometimes I go with my sister or my cousins.
We go there Monday nights...to watch K-pop Music Shows XD
As you can see the projector TV thing is right next to our usual table.
It's extremely fun watching 2NE1 performing with a screen that big.

That Monday night Meredith and I played "Life"
Nep (her BF) came later on and joined us.

My usual Hazel-nut ice-cold latte :]

**Zion Market Food Court**

It was Sunday and I went to Meredith's dad's house to visit. Nep (her BF) was with us. We watched some TV then decided to go out to K-town and eat. It's only about 6 blocks away from her place btw XD What's weird...there was 3 of us but we ordered food good for 5 people. We had to get an extra table just to put all the food down. Some people started looking at us too XD

What Meredith and Nep wanted.

The window display was tempting so Meredith got this.

I ordered it because I wanted to eat "All you Can Eat K-BBQ" that day
but Meredith and Nep went to one the night before XD

What I ordered. The name of the shop I got this from was in korean so I have no idea what it's called.
It's korean jelly. Tendons and stuff like that so there was a lot of collagen.

I wanted to eat some seared salmon nigiri but they didn't have it so we got this instead.
Nep and I were the only ones who ate it because Meredith...doesn't really eat sushi^^
After that we went to YD Karaoke!!

**YD Karaoke**

Every time I go here there's always a group of kids singing 2NE1's songs^^
Every time we go there we always ask the guy to turn down the volume in our room a bit XD
They have a nice selection of Arashi songs. There was also a good selection of NEWS and Kat-Tun songs.
People that like to sing Japanese songs would like this place!!
I remember seeing some Vietnamese, Tagalog (filipino), Thai, etc. songs too but not much.
For tagalog (filipino)...K-box at Third/Vermont has a better selection.

We said we would be there for just an hour but we ended up spending around 3-4 hours there!! We sang a lot!! There was a lot of dancing and other crazy antics that involved the tambourines XD If you sing Korean or Japanese songs here they won't be in romaji or english letters and stuff so Meredith and I were using our phones to surf the net and get the lyrics from there XD

**Home Cafe (again)**

Sunday Night...we played Uno-Stack-O.
Meredith whined that Nep and I are ganging up on her XD
Who lost and had to pay at "Home Cafe" that night: Nep :] it's called karma^^

**Little Japanese Garden at Otani Hotel**

I go therre quite a lot too on my way to Marukai or something.
The entrance is right next to the little Starbuck's shop at ground level.

The view from the garden.

On the same floor is a Japanese traditional style restaurant. There's also a bar there.
I go here sometimes just to eat cream-puffs and drink coffee XD
It's also near Kinokuniya so after I get fangirl goods I go up here to open them and flail XD
There's a bigger japanese garden in Little Tokyo and I'll share and take pics of it next time^^

**Lunch at Grandma's**

Whenever grandma invites me for lunch she will always ask me what I want to eat then she will make it for me^^ Not only that, rain or shine, and even with arthritis pain..since I'm their only grand-kid that eats sweets like a monster...she will go out and get something sweet for me XD Even though I'm the only one visiting she will prepare a couple entries for me to choose from. Not only that, grandma will go to all the trouble of washing and cutting fruits just so I'll eat them XD SHe will also make sure to buy ice-cream (my fave!!). I'm a troublesome grand-child...but grandma doesn't seem to mind^^ Back in HS, I was able to get all the trendy and good stuff because of grandma. If there's something I want and mom won't buy it for me, I just tell grandma and she goes with me to the mall to buy it and stuff.

all that for one person. amazing!!

**Home Cafe (again & again)**

Another Monday night, another visit XD Just Meredith and I that night.
We split a patbingsoo & a cheesecake^^
We talked a lot and giggled a lot!!
I felt like we were 5 all over again :]

**Mitsuru's Cafe**

Little Tokyo's Little Japanese Village.
Right next to Sanrio, in front of Tokyo outlet.
You cannot miss this shop!!
Their imagawayaki is the most popular one but their other treats are very delicious too!!
I post about this shop quite a lot because I go there every single time I go to Little Tokyo.

Always fresh and newly made!! The red-bean filling is truly splendid.

I like their simplicity. The texture is kinda interesting too.

I love takoyaki's so I always get them whenever I see them on a restaurants menu or something!! The takoyaki's from Mitsuru Cafe are usually better than the ones from the restaurants though^^ Their batter is not too watery and they are quite well-cooked. The octopus is tender and chewy. The sesame seeds also add an interesting flavor along with the sea-weed.

My favorite!! I always buy some to take home then I eat them with kewpie & ketchup!!
It's crispy outside texture makes a wonderful contrast with the tender and juicy inside^^

**Random Stuff**

Shakugan no Shana <3
Ss retarded as it sounds, that's the main reason why i keep buying them XD

They were cheap and pretty good.
Their around $0.50 so it's a steal^^

We buy a lot of these^^ Mom, Nana and I love them!!
Not just this brand but others as well.

Put this on some newly cooked rice along with some kewpie
and you will be the happiest person in the world for a good 10 minutes :]

.

We always have a lot of these in the pantry along with the vermont curry (but I forgot to take a picture of it) XD
Dashi stock...my sister cooks a lot so she uses them for mushroom rice, miso soup, oden and some other stuff :]

They have a lot of other variations like strawberry and green tea. My mom really likes them so when we get groceries from an Asian market we end up buying a ton of them XD They're pretty good and chewy. I want the to put chocolate inside but then that won't be a daifuku anymore....

I love this stuff so much that I always buy around 4 bottles at the same time.
Now I know why this thing is always in jdramas and stuff.
It's mayo and yet it's not mayo.
The flavor is not exactly mayo but it is mayo.
You can really taste the eggs not only that it's not as oily as regular mayo.

Another favorite thing of mine XD
I don't mind whatever brand it is so long as it's "shiso" and not "hachimitsu"
They are great to eat on top of a warm bed of rice with some crispy nori^^

**K-Box @ Third/Vermont**

It's been a while since I went to K-box. I used to go there a lot almost every single night when I was working for DirecTV because I had lots of friends that frequented the establishment to play billiards, drink and sing. When I go there I turn-off the lights, turn on the disco-ball and sing the night away. I think I drink more too when I go there than at YD Karaoke.

**Aiko-chan Corner**

She used to be so tiny that she barely reached her food bowl...now she's all big and long!!
Here she is playing with my bag. That bag is huge XD Probably over 24"

At our house you do not leave any bags around because Aiko-chan will definitely try to get inside it. Doesn't matter what kind of bag...once she gets a hold of it she won't give it back XD When guests come over...she gets scared of them but once they put down their bags, purses or whatever...she gets all excited and tries to get into them. It's bad when I get delivery or groceries cause when I look inside she's sitting there grinning at me wickedly or something XD

Here's a picture of Aiko-chan in a box...again XD

**Wallpapers**

Do Not Copy, Modify and Steal!!
Click thumbnail Images to Full-View, Save, or Download.
Sizes on the left are: 1024x768
Sizes on the right are: 1200x800

I'm working on a ton of wallies right now. Here's a little preview!!
There will be solos of Arashi members & Kanjani8 members as well.
I'll post them up once I finish all of them^^

That's it for now. Happy Days :]

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2010-10-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

Just got home and my birthday will be over in an hour Tonight is a night that I will fondly remember in the years ahead There's no rowdy party, no birthday cake, no candles to blow and no drunk and wasted peeps to take home and worry about. Instead I was greeted with four hellish meetings, tons of paper-work, long phone-calls and overtime.

My body feels tired and my mind is a mess but my heart is in a happy state I received a lot of strength from everyone who sent me well wishes and greetings for my birthday. I was reading them earlier and the entire time I was thinking "Oh, so they think about me after all..." because seriously, I'm not always around and more than half the people that sent me messages are people I don't know Some of the messages I got was mushy...(specially Kin-chan's) and I wouldn't like it any other way I'm happy enough that people thought of me Thanks to everyone who took the time to write me messages and make me stuff!! I'll keep them in my inbox (at gmail, livejournal, facebook, myspace, friendster, etc.) and read them every now and then...specially when I need a quick picker-upper

I'm off to bed My boss and his wife are coming back tomorrow so I have to come in early to make preparations and stuff. My birthday will soon be over but I've received a lot of power from everyone so I'll do my best and work even harder from now on

090810 GFX Update!! (2NE1, Ikuta Toma, NEWS, Fahrenheit, Kanjani8. & Kat-Tun)

2010-09-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

I was going to update last weekend but my photobucket account won't let me
It keeps crashing and messing up the order of my images

Anyway, this one is going to be pretty big Not too long ago I updated with Arashi and this week...there's NE, NEWS, Kat-Tun, Kanjani, Ikuta Toma , Fahrenheit, etc. Since photobucket still won't cooperate with me I went ahead and put the phone wallies in a zip-folder and uploaded them on MF So, for phone wallies I will only show you some previews of it this time at the bottom of this post^^ I'm so sorry and I hope that this is fine with everyone

I'll stop talking for now. Here are the graphics!!
Do not copy, modify and steal
Click on thumbnails to full-view and download

2NE1

I really like the group wallpaper a lot It looks sweet that's why For CL's I made it dark so that it stands out from the other girls. Minzy's is something really simple. Bommie's is filled with lots of crazy stuff. I ended up making 2 for Dara. For the blue one I was thinking of making it a goddess theme but it ended up looking more like a masquerade ball type of wallpaper. The soft-coral colored one...hmm, I'm not really sure myself since I made that one without really thinking of anything that time. Anyway, have fun using these!!

Oh, I really love GD-Dara but just recently I can't help but really love TaeYang-Dara too^^
Last night I was watching TaeYang-Dara stuff on YT.
I've been corrupted and I like it!!
I wish I realized their compatibility sooner.

FAHRENHEIT

It's been a while since I made something for these boys!!
I really like their floating/jumping pics a lot XD
I think I'll make solo wallies of them again soon^^

KAT-TUN

Yes, it has Jin on them. This was made before Jin went solo. Now that I think about it, I should make solo wallpapers of them again soon. I received some petty messages about these since I mentioned last week that I'm updating with KT stuff. I just make what other people request and want to see. I'm not on anyone's side.

KANJANI 8

I don't have much K8 scans now that I think about it. I've liked these guys for so long . They are just so funny, adorable, and absolutely wonderful to me I think that it's about time I make solo wallies of them too Out of all the K8 members I've only made stuff for Ryo and Ohkura....I know, it's not fair so I'll work on solo ones next time Oh...I need pics though so if anyone can send some to me then 'll be able to work on some faster!! Oh, and if you can send me some Tokio and V6 scans too then I'll be extremely happy

BONUS: I made these a long long time ago but if you're interested you can take them^^
Please use my tags to find what you are looking for!!

NEWS (Group and Solo)

This was originally going to be a birthday banner for somebody. This is actually an unfinished wallpaper but I went ahead and saved them so if anyone is interested...please enjoy using them!! If I ever finish this one...I'll post it up here.

Yamapi!! The two dark-themed ones originally said
"Love You" on them but I switched it to "beyond the clouds""
Looks like I still need to work harder when it comes to coloring XD
In the end I couldn't get the color I wanted.

Out of all the group wallies for NEWS I made Keii-chan's first^^
He sure is doing his best on News Every
It seems that he also follows Sho-sama
Out of all the NEWS members I think I'll get along with him the best

I made his eyes gray XD I like this picture of him a lot^^
It's so natural and so sexy to me!!
Simple and Clean.

Tegoshi's wallies are...inspired by the Shige wallies below XD
I made his purple though...and I made his eyes purple too^^
I like the one on the left the best

Massu's is inspired by the Park Bom wallies above
I wanted something fun and cute for him
I'm not sure if I managed to achieve that though
These two wallies look really crazy to me

Shige's eyes...I played around with them so they sorta look like marbles!!
I had to dodge and burn them so much.
I had to use 4 colors too!!
Green, Blue, Purple and, Brown
Looking at it...it looks nice but I forgot to add back his pupils
It doesn't bother me much though

IKUTA TOMA

Toma-sama must be super busy these days!!
It was nice of him to go to Arashi's recent concert.
He ended up sitting with Maki & Shun. Hana-Kimi Reunion?
Anyway, keep doing your best Toma-sama
I'll always support you

My photobucket is still acting up so phone wallies are in a zip-file.
You can download them from these links
Size 240x320: http://www.mediafire.com/?lvi0n2aap9d5ssl
Size: 240x400: http://www.mediafire.com/?fcx5mzei6a8s78y

Here is a preview of what's included!!

That's it from me...for now
I have to come to work extra early tomorrow
and most likely I'll come home super late

It's Jewish New Year and my jewish officemates and bosses won't be around...meaning I'll have major work-load I need to take care of XD Thursday and Friday...will be tough but I'll do my best!! "SHANAH TOVA" to all my wonderful jewish friends

I'll be back with more goodies next time!!
I'lll put these up on my DeviantArt account and Tumblr too^^
Feel free to drop by there too when you have time!!

HAPPY DAYS

08-30-10 -- GFX Update, Birthdays and new LJ layout!!

2010-08-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

It's been such a long time since I last posted
Anyway, It's Matsu-Fab's birthday so a gfx update is in order.
I will only post the Arashi stuff for now.
The others will be on my next update which will probably be next weekend.

Next weekend's gfx update will include:
NEWS, Kat-Tun, Kanjani8, 2NE1, Fahrenheit and Toma-sama!!

Also, I changed my LJ layout again Do you guys like it
Since I still have other things I need to take care of I'll stop blabbing.
They're not the best out there but I hope you'll enjoy using them
Here are the graphics Do not copy, steal or modify
I'll upload them to DeviantArt in a little later^^
If there's anything here you want as a header or something, let me know!!

As always, it's in AMNOS order again.
Hope you guys are having a FABsuJUN weekend!!

AIBA MASAKI

Lately I'm into red/black colored stuff.
That's why most of them in this batch are that color.
I used the second one earlier!!
It's slanted...I don't know why I did that
I have to bend my neck to look at Aiba's face.
My neck hurt because of that wallpaper.
Still, Masaki-kun is soo gorgeous^^

MATSUMOTO JUN

The "DIVA" Birthday Boy!!
He grows even more radiant and beautiful each year.
(Isn't that what they say about princesses in fairy tales?)
I wonder what presents the Arashi members are getting him...

A fangirl friend pointed me to the direction of the AnAn scans.
Darn!! He is just so lovely in all those pictures
Why didn't I see these scans sooner?!
I kept them simple. Just a bit of coloring and sparkles!!
As suggested by Kin-chan...I didn't want to ruin it by doing so much stuff to it.
Specially since most of my stuff is over-kill

The other wallpaper with the lips was made a while back.
jadeswallow@LJ asked for a banner for a pimp post and sent me the picture
I was also using this earlier. Somehow it's very refreshing to me

NINOMIYA KAZUNARI

"NEEN" THE PIMP
I know. It's another strange graphic from me
I really enjoyed making this one though
It's Nino and yet not Nino
I'm not sure if you guys will like this Nino (but please don't be angry with me!!)
Let me know what you guys think of this one!!

OHNO SATOSHI

MatsuFab should be today's star but this adorable old man (I don't know where grandpa went so let's use granny instead!!) sure has a bunch of stuff XD That's because after I made Shii-sensei's bday banner about a month ago, a few people sent me a message asking if I can make it into a wallpaper...that's why we have "Happy Satoshi" wallies. Originally I was gonna put "SATO-FISHY" on it but I wasn't sure if it would make sense to other people.

For the "treasure the moment always" wallpaper...I colored Oh-chan's eyes.
I was using this earlier too. He looks so adorable!! (like a baby?!)
It's hard to believe that he is already turning 30

And lastly, we have "Oh-chan's Head - The Works"
I have a strange fascination with his head
This is probably the third or fourth time I've cut his head in a graphic.
The goldfish (I colored it blue!! ) in the light-bulb is interesting.
What do you do when it's 11:11?

SAKURAI SHO

I freaking love this picture I've used it before and I'm using it again If I ever go to an Arashi concert and I saw him like this...I'll probably wave my uchiwa so much and break it. In the end, I'll get kicked-out of the concert venue and cry on the train ride back to my hotel.

Sho-chan's wallpapers are inspired by the Tegoshi and Shige wallies I made earlier.
(Purple Tego & Blue Shige wallies will be up next weekend!!)
In the end...the Sho-chan wallies look nothing like the Tego-Shige ones.
There are versions for you guys to choose from.
Which one do you like best and why??

ARASHI (GROUP)

There's a version 2 of this wallpaper but I don't know if I'll ever share it.
If I ever share version 2, I'll have to modify it a bit because I customized it for myself..

That's the for the desktop wallpapers!!
Phone/mp3 wallies are below.

I would have made more Arashi wallies (specially for Aiba & Neen)
but I wanted to post this update on MatsuFab's birthday no matter what.
I'll just have to do better on my next Arashi related gfx update

240x400

240x320

This time it's really the . I'll put the phone wallies in a compressed folder (for download on MF) once the other batch of graphics are up...that will be next week. And...here's a little preview of what's to come on next weeks update:

Next weekend's gfx update will include:
NEWS, Kat-Tun, Kanjani8, 2NE1, Fahrenheit and Toma-sama!!

Lastly, a very happy birthday to patziepiva@LJ!!
It's a little early hun...I hope you'll have a fun-filled birthday

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend .
I've been feeling awful since Friday night.
I was supposed to go to my grandparents last Saturday but I didn't

I've been so busy so I'm pretty behind when it comes to anything fangirl related. I'll post about me and my kitty and the other crazy things that happen in my life some other time. I'm really really sleepy right now. Forgive the typos...I'm too lazy and sleepy to correct them. Happy days and til my next update

Happy Birthday SHII^^

2010-07-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

for my awesome buddy
dear...you have the same birthday as my dad XD
my sis celebrated hers last July 11 btw^^

anyway, have some oh-chan <3
have a very wonderful birthday *hugs*
forget your worries and have lots of fun!!

in celebration of your birthday i originally wanted to make you a graphic
with a naked ohno-man coming out of a big cake
but it was just so strange
and my eye couldn't help twitching whenever i thought of it XD

Older, wiser and even more good-looking^^
You'll only get better with the years!!
Hoping your wishes come true year after year.

HAPPY
BIRTHDAY
SHII-SENSEI

New LJ Layout + Arashi Gfx + Aiko!!

2010-05-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

Something went wrong with my LJ layout last week so I decided to make a new one!! I got the layout styesheet from minty_peach so many thanks to her^^ I modified it and I also made a brand new header to go along with it. I wanted it to be Arashi-themed again but at the same time I wanted to add Aiko-chan (my cute kitty) on it too XD That's the reason why I have some Arashi wallpapers right now...they were originally going to be for my LJ layout but I gave up on them because I got too caught up on making the Arashi-text (see the pretty pink diamonds...it took a while to make!!) on it...I kinda forgot how to make that text hats why. It seems that my PS skills are getting rusty....

Anyway, what do you guys think? Do you like it or not?
I'm not sure yet but I really like looking at Sho-chan's and Aiko-chan's picture on it :]

Here are some wallies for your desktop and your phones/mp3 players!!
As always, credits and comments are love <3
Do not copy, steal or modify!!

ARASHI Desktop Wallies
**Please click on thumbnails to save/download**

I made three different versions^^
From L to R: Black Wood, Dark Wood and Old Wood!!
It took me an hour to make them.
The text alone took me about 30 minutes XD

I was going to use them as my LJ layout but I came up with something else (cause I fail at css & html) so I removed the other stuff I originally had on it and I changed the text to just "Arashi" Anyway, think they turned out alright so I hope you guys will have fun using it!!

ARASHI Phone/MP3 Player Wallies
**available in 240x400 and 240x320 **

240x400

240x320

Aiko-chan!!
She's sleeping on my lap right now!! We gave her a bath earlier^^
She's gotten bigger and naughtier XD

Here's a pic of her playing with a shoe box.
"Wild Diva" -- I think the box has some sort of sixth sense XD

Surprise!! Aiko-chan inside a cereal box...again!!

She can fall asleep anywhere XD
She also really likes blankets and towels!!
So she ends up looking like this:

I bought her a kitty bed to sleep on at night but when I wake up she's always on top of me sleeping so cutely XD Below are some pics of what happens when I leave my bath towel lying around. She gets on it and somehow manages to roll herself into it. Imagine my surprise when I grabbed my towel off the couch and she fell out!! Now that towel belongs to her...she takes it to her kitty bed and sleeps on it too^^

Look at those raised paws!!
Look at that cute little nose!!
Look at that ~~one stray nipple~~ XD

She woke up because I kept giggling like an idiot and taking pics XD

She is not looking at my phone camera.
She's looking at my phone charms.
She wants to eat them.

Here's another vid!!

Yummy Stuff!!
I'm addicted to this right now^^

I hope everyone is having a great weekend^^
Here's some Sho-chan to make your day extra special^^

happy happy days my friends <3

psycho kitty^^

2010-05-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

A quick update before I go!!
It's about my kitty again
By the way, we finally settled on a name for her^^
it's AIKO-chan <3

This is how she looks when she's sleeping^^

Cute and very innocent
She sleeps on her kitty bed next to this pig-shaped toy.
It's actually a soft baby toy that makes sounds^^
She really likes it a lot!!

The other day I bought cereal.
Honey Bunches of Oats and Corn Bran.
I wanted some Oreo O's cereal but I couldn't find them anywhere XD
I wonder if they are they still selling those....
Those we're very yummy after all!!

Oh...so sorry about that XD Back to what I was telling you about earlier...it seems that Aiko-chan loves cereal and cereal boxes Also, the charms hanging on my phone are a favorite of hers...I've caught her chewing on it twice yesterday when I left it on the coffee table. Now I always have to put it somewhere higher. Another thing that she seems to like are paper bags She loves to get inside one and curl up there^^ She also loves sleeping under the coffee table right on top of the magazines and books we have there.I think I'll buy her one of those tunnel-thingies I saw at the store!!

Here's a video of Aiko-chan going nuts over a cereal box. You can hear my younger sister doing some sort of commentary abut breakfast XD In the end you can hear me complain a bit when she pounced on my phone while I was taking a video of her^^

Anyway, I still don't know when I'll be able to do any photoshopping. I've been taking pictures of a lot of other things but I couldn't share them because a pic spam would probably take me an hour to get done XD My pictures are mostly of food, places, and stuff I bought and recently there's a lot of Aiko-chan too^^

My 1TB external hard-drive is 3/4 full so I thought that it's about time I buy a 2TB/or more external hard-drive online but I completely forgot about it and I ended up buying an mp3 player, a 16GB new microSd for my phone, some vision training glasses and a bunch of other junk XD Then yesterday while moving around music files I remembered thit I'll try again next weekend...I hope that I don't forget!!

HAVE A
GREAT DAY
EVERYONE!!

new family member!!

2010-05-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

Cutest Thing Ever.

Just got her yesterday :] Isn't she just so adorable?!

We don't have a name for her yet so we keep calling her with random names XD
She's only two months old^^ Very adorable, gentle and so tiny!!
She has very lovely grayish blue eyes!! My sister wants to name her "Aiko"

I went out late last night to get some kitty essentials like her cat food, cat treats, cat litter, cat toys, towel, blanket etc. I'm sure by the end of this week I'll end up getting her tons of ~~junk~~ things!! I've already bought her a carrier and now I'm looking for a gorgeous collar to put on her XD It's been a while since I sat around and did nothing. Today I plan to spend the day just holding and cuddling her^^ When I'm on the computer she comes and wants to sit on my lap and then naps...so cute!!

Here's a video of her I took about 30 minutes after we brought her home!!

She's just soo cute^^
I can't get over it XD

Anyway, I'm still alive!! Sorry if haven't been around much.
Work is keeping me pretty busy. Lately it's gotten even busier XD
I haven't touched photoshop for like a couple months now.
I miss everyone^^ I hope you're all doing well :]

I made this in a jiffy using my cellphone XD
The inner fangirl in me won't allow me to post without some
SHO-LOVE <3

GFX Update!! 02.21.10 (Tego-rin & Akame)

2010-02-21T20:39:00.000-08:00

Hy guys!! A quick and teeny gfx update from me^^
Grandpa finally got out of the hospital yesterday :]
Tomorrow is Monday so I'm going to be back in the office again XD
I'm a bit busy tonight with loads of stuff so I'll make this quick!!
Oh, and sorry that I haven't replied back to most of you guys yet,
It's just been really crazy and busy lately...

Do NOT Copy, Modify, or claim as your own!!
Credits and Comments are very much appreciated!!
No LJ cut tonight, just because...

this one is for bebe-chan^^ she requested this for her fanfic!!
you can read it by visiting her LJ page --> mesu87foxchan
hun, i just read your message this morning and made this.

i haven't read your fic yet but it seems interesting^^
jin is a werewolf so i made him transform into one XD
then kame is a vampire so there's some blood on it too!!
i'm not sure if this is the design you had in mind though XD
so let me know if you want to make changes^^

=============================================

Last week requested some phone wallies!! She sent me a folder of Tego-rin photos!! *thanks so much dear!!* I made two sizes for everyone interested in using it^^ There's 240x320 and also the usual 240x400. I'll include this stuff on batch 4 of my phone wallies update and put it on a zip-file to make it convenient for a lot of people out there :] hun, i didn't use all the pics XD some of them we're a little grainy when set as a phone wallpaper so i deleted them. I tested them out on my phone so i'm sure it will work well with yours^^

240x320

240x400

and that concludes tonights update XD
i gotta make it quick...there's still tons of stuff i have to do^^
have a great night guys *hugs & kisses*

oh my sho, you are just so damn awesome
& i've got butterflies in my stomach all over again XD

W-O-R-R-I-E-D

2010-02-18T00:54:00.000-08:00

Jus got home^^ I was over at Little Tokyo earlier.
We went grocery shopping and had dinner there.
I left my office pretty late so my sister waited for a long time XD
I'm too lazy to take & upload pics now but I did take a few earlier.
*I know, I never make sense XD*

I can't remember the name of the restaurant but that's where I go for some tuna/nattou and hot sake XD I wanted to eat someplace else originally (something like "nabe") but lots of places were already close. Little Tokyo was pretty quiet today. Anyway, I was really hungry and quite sleepy earlier so I gave up after taking 3 pictures XD I was going to order una-ju (after watching VVV6 with daigo&kanako+unagi i've been craving for some unagi!!) but then the raw salmon & tuna bowl sounded really awesome too^^ ~~I played mental-janken~~ to decide!! in the end salmon/tuna-don won...it was good^^ I liked it a lot!!

Last night I went to my grandparent's place with my mother. It's been a while since I last dropped by their place. Grandma cooked dinner for us and she made some yummy cold desert too^^ My younger cousin/god-daughter was there (RACHEL - pictured below)!! She's growing up so fast!! Seems like she had a much better valentine's than I did XD She got lots of stuff from her friends. I got some stuff too but from work acquaintances and I skipped my friends offer to go out.

Anyway, grandpa was pretty swell last night...chatting & joking around and laughing...but after work my sister told me that he was at the hospital. I'm not sure what happened but I think he collapsed in the supermarket because his blood pressure rose. Mom went to see him and grandma immediately. I was only told a while ago and it was already late then so I ended up not going and proceeding with our earlier arrangements for this evening. It's only been a month after grandma got hospitalized, now it's grandpa. I'm not sure how long he'll be staying in the hospital but I hope that they release him ASAP because hospitals seriously stress me out XD Grandpa is saying that he feels fine and he demands to go home but the doctors won't let him.

I have to go to H&R block soon and take care of my taxes. I hate it a lot but my tax agent is a lovely lady XD I've never gotten a refund and I end up paying so much every single year. So while my friends are busy planning trips/vacations with their refunds and stuff...I'm sitting here feeling a little jealous XD Refunds must be nice...

Ah, I talked randomly again XD
Sorry for boring you guys!!
it's almost 1am here in LA
I'm off to make coffee...

because I love 3D Sho-kun lots^^
I can't wait to see TROUBLEMAKER'S full PV!! Fishing-Arashi is awesome!!

GFX Update02.07.10 (Early Valentine Special!!)

2010-02-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

HUGE GFX UPDATE^^
this is sort of like an early Valentines present from me!!
anyway, enjoy the graphics :]
as always, comments and credits are LOVE^^
Do not Steal, Copy, and Modify!!
Click THUMBNAILS to view desktop wallpapers!!
Oh, and thank you for always sending me scans *glomps*

51 desktop-size wallpapers
Big Bang (K-pop) = 1
Shige Kato (NEWS) = 4
Ikuta Toma = 3
Kat-Tun = 1 group/6 solos
Aiba Masaki (ARASHI) = 8
Matsumoto Jun (ARASHI) = 2
Ninomiya Kazunari (ARASHI) = 2
Ohno Satoshi (ARASHI) = 5
Sakurai Sho (ARASHI) = 27

78 phone/mp3 player wallpapers
Big Bang (K-pop) = 2
Shige Kato (NEWS) = 8
Ikuta Toma = 9
Kat-Tun = 3 group/6 solos
Aiba Masaki (ARASHI) = 5
Matsumoto Jun (ARASHI) = 6
Ninomiya Kazunari (ARASHI) = 4
Ohno Satoshi (ARASHI) = 6
Sakurai Sho (ARASHI) = 29

31 icons -- 100x100
Shige Kato (NEWS) = 5
Sakurai Sho (ARASHI) = 26

oh, and a quick greeting to my NEWS fangirl-buddy from LJ...AiMi-chan!!
It's early but I don't want it to be late XD you know how I am...always all over the place XD whatever wishes and dreams you may have...i hope they'll all come true!! have a good one dear and may you have many more to come!! *hugs* happy birthday from shige-bug & i!!

Shige Kato (NEWS)

1024x768

1024x600

wallpapers are requested by "londonerpost" through my gmail. the scans are also provided by her^^ as requested, shige's name is in japanese format!! he looks cool to me on the dark/fire wallpaper XD i colored his eyes red...hope you like it hun!! i also added icons and phone/mp3 player wallpapers^^

Big Bang (YG Entertainment)

hmm, i can't remember who requested this and i can't find it in my gmail either XD anyway, it's been sitting on my pc for quite some time now and i almost forgot about it too XD so whoever is interested, have fun with it!! will make more of them in the future btw^^ desktop wallpaper above (click thumbnail), phone/mp3 wallpapers below!!

Ikuta Toma (Johnny's Jr)

requested recently by a fangirl pal though my blogspot XD i can't seem to get satisfied with it so i ended up with 3 of them^^ it has a spring feel to it XD my pick would be the one in the middle!! i kept the third one simple...hope you guys like it :] desktop wallpapers above (click thumbnail), phone/mp3 wallpapers below!!

KAT-TUN (Group & Solos!!)

top: kame, koki, nakamaru
bottom: ueda, taguchi, jin

ah, i forgot who requested this but it's someone from LJ...i'm too lazy to back read messages on my inbox to figure it out (sorry!!) it's dark-themed^^ anyway, if i remember correctly, she wanted headers too and an FO-banner out of them. If you're reading this hun, let me know the size and i'll fix them up for you^^ desktop wallpapers above (click thumbnail), phone/mp3 wallpapers below!!

Aiba Masaki (ARASHI)

top: with text
bottom: plain/no text

as requested, i kept them clean, no name and with some text!! i did color his hair and his eyes and stuff XD i wanted to put little lady-bugs but i didn't because she did want them plain^^ i made some without text too for those who might be interested!! desktop wallpapers above (click thumbnail), phone/mp3 wallpapers below!!

Matsumoto Jun (ARASHI)

i have no idea where i was trying to go with this one but jun-tan looks great anyway (as always)...i wanted to make him into a dark angel but then it became vampire-like XD anyway, hope you guys like this too^^ desktop wallpapers above (click thumbnail), phone/mp3 wallpapers below!!

Ninomiya Kazunari (ARASHI)

ah, the yellow one on the left is so bright and cheery...it's a gardening theme and i made it for myself XD (i was corrupted by mma episodes where cute "neenerd" works in vinyl houses!!) the one on the right is kitto-daijobou themed btw (i was going to make neener-city but i ended up with this, maybe next time!!) desktop wallpapers above (click thumbnail), phone/mp3 wallpapers below!!

Ohno Satoshi (ARASHI)

for bianca (animesempaigirl@LJ) she asked me after her birthday XD pictures are also provided by her!! *thanks hun!!* it's OHNO_MAN (sorry!!) i know that i made ohno into a fishing-maou before but after seeing this scan i was only able to think of super-hero type ohno XD

desktop wallpapers above (click thumbnail), phone/mp3 wallpapers below!!

Sakurai Sho (ARASHI)

ah, as promised it's from AnAn & i think hanako. It's been requested for such a long time now by quite a lot of people XD i was thinking of not making some from these scans because i already saw so many other people make beautiful stuff out of them but a lot of people still kept requesting them so finally, i made them all today^^ (it took me about 5 hours to cut, color and make the sho-stuff below so please do not modify them without asking me first!! thank you!!) since a lot of graphic makers focused on his glorious and smexy body already...i thought i'd go ahead and focus on his lovely face :] i hope everyone will still like them!!

Let's call the first 5: HEAVENLY
(it's celestial-like with the sparkles and all!!)

Let's call this set: GREASY
(because sho-chan looks like someone ate french fries off him)

hmm, maybe well call this set: BITTEN
(for vampire-like individuals interested in sinking their fangs on sho-chan^^)
looks great full size so click the thumbnails :]

BONUS from me^^

i was going to give you guys fiery sho-chan but i accidentally closed the file i was working on and since i didn't save them i had to change them...but it's great because i ended up with lots of versions that i hope you guys can enjoy^^

desktop wallpapers above (click thumbnail), phone/mp3 wallpapers below!!

the following are wallpapers that you can use with your cellphone/mp3 player or wherever else you may want to use it^^ since there's a lot of them i'm posting them as thumbnails!! click on thumbnails to view the original and to save them!! Thank you^^

26 icons (100x100 & under 40kb)
animated & stills...enjoy :]

Yay!! there goes the stuff^^
hope you guys like them!!
have fun using them :]
Credits & Comments would be awesome^^
**Happy Days**

because there's something good in everyone...

2010-01-29T15:55:00.001-08:00

I've been pretty stressed out with work lately. It keeps me so busy so I don't really have much time for well, much of anything XD I can't go out as much as I like and lately I've been doing overtime so much that by the time I get home I just fall asleep right away on the couch, a chair...I'm skipped lunch again because I'm waiting for a very important phone call...

This morning I took a cab and the driver asked me how old I was. I gave him my age and he said "ah, you're so young!!" After I told him where I wanted to go he asked me what I do for work and so I told him and he said "ah, why are you in a rush?! why are you living your life so fast?! you should slow down, take it easy..." and then...he gave me 3 pieces of windmill shaped cookies because he said it looks like I could use it :] ~~he apologized too because he said that he got them from the dollar store and that I might not like them~~ XD

This incident really makes me smile like a fool XD
I think this smile will last the entire day & maybe over the weekend^^
I haven't slept yet, I skipped breakfast and now lunch.
The last thing I ate was the gyuudon.
Somehow, even though he's a complete stranger...he noticed**

Mr. Cab Driver
I'm glad you're the one who picked me up today!!
Those cookies you got from the dollar store are the yummiest I've eaten in a while^^
I'll take it easy today and not do overtime :]
I want to feel like my age again even just for today^^
I might never get to meet you again ever
from the bottom of my heart
THANK YOU!!

I hope everyone gets to meet someone today too
that will inspire them,
encourage them
and give them hope!!

happy birthday ASU-chan + Meme^^

2010-01-28T10:06:00.001-08:00

My questions from linzer_jello

1. What is your favorite candy?
I do not have a favorite candy hun^^
so long as their sweet i'm perfectly happy to pop them in my mouth XD
i'm not sure if it counts as candy for you but i really love white chocolate a whole lot!!
2. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
i want to be taken care of so maybe a dog or a cat^^
i love dogs a lot but i'm a ~~lazy bum~~ XD
maybe i should just be a cat so that i can ~~manipulate~~ my owner into worshiping me *sparkles*
3. What is your favorite junk food?
i eat a lot of french fries with ketchup & kewpie mayo^^ and i totally love flaming hot lays!!
i even put it on my alfredo pasta when i make some :]
4. Who is your favorite person and why? (I will not accept Sho because of his pictures unless you give him fully to me. ;D)
why can't it be sho-kun? why???
but the SHO is my favorite person XD
and NO, i will not hand him over!!

but i have to somehow answer this question right?
then i'll choose a much closer favorite person of mine...
my bff^^ MEREDITH * thanks ~~chip&karissa~~ for bringing us together!!*
because she puts up with an idiot like me :]

5. What is your favorite font?
"avant garde" does that surprise you?

The Five Questions Meme
How this meme works:
1 - Leave a comment, saying "Jiggy".
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.

==============================================================

Moving on to other things XD
i just got home from work...i'm so hungry!!
my younger sister is making "gyuudon" for dinner tonight!!

oh, and it's my gal-pal Ashley's ( ) birthday^^
i thought i'd make her a little something :]
a fellow arashi & dbsk fanatic...

Happy Birthday ASU-nyan!!
I made a hero wallpaper for you hun^^ hope you like it...
clicky, clicky for full-size^^
I really like his gentle and cute expression on that pic :]
I don't know how you're celebrating it but I hope that you'll enjoy it!!
Do your best with school work hun & always take care *hugs*

and here's a desktop size version (click thumbnail!!) & phone wallpaper size version
for anyone else out there who might want it. have fun using them then :]

==============================================================

i heard that there's going to be a new arashi tv show to replace shukudai-kun XD i really love ans and so i'm wondering if ogura-san would stll be with them? i also wonder if they'll still have aiba's board game, then the odoroki sp's, nipple shirts & stockings....because if not, i will miss those a whole lot^^ anyway, i'm sure that new show of theirs will be something to look forward to so i will be patiently waiting for it!!

vou guys probably saw this already but i can't help but be amused with the ladies on the small box on the left of the screen XD i wonder what they have running through their minds (~~perverted thoughts maybe??~~) during that time and if they bought a copy or copies of sho-kun's anan!!

i'm off to watch some arashi and v6 stuff!!
have a great night guys^^
*~~munches on some kettle corn~~*

2010-01-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

Hello :] Jean-chan is now home...
I wanted to buy a pretty cake that reads:
Happy Birthday Sho!!
but I had to work til late today XD
I knew the usual cake shop I go to would be closed by then...

Jean is a stubborn woman though...in the end she found a little coffee shop that sold cake slices & other pastries so she got those instead :] Too bad they didn't have a nice round cake XD

Anyway, here's how they look^^
I'm about to eat them...I hope they taste yummy!!

I got 5 different ones!!
I kinda ruined them though XD
It was tough getting these babies home...

this one is a fudge brownie cake slice :]

the label on this one says "chocolate milk" XD

It's a choco roll with buttercream^^

strawberry fresh cream cake!!

cheesecake/flan slice
(are they trying to make me believe that's a  cherry??)

My mom, my sis and I lit them up and sang "happy birthday"
in the end we said "happy birthday Sho-kun!!"
I failed at getting a nice cake...XD
I'll try harder next time^^

The 25th of January is ending in a few hours.
I hope Sho-kun celebrated his birthday well^^
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHO!!
You are my science. I am a scientist.

click here for
61 Sakurai Sho GFX!!
desktop wallies, phone wallies & icons

because Sho-kun doesn't always fail :]

"SAKURAI SHO" BDAY GFX^^

2010-01-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

I didn't know people would be looking for me today. I shouldn't be surprised though because the 25th of January is a very special day!! It's MY SHO-kun's birthday!! Seems like a lot of people are wondering if I'm making something or not. It's kinda odd...after all, a lot of other people already made so much Sho-chan stuff so I'm wondering why on earth they'd be waiting for mine XD I guess it's only natural for them to wonder since they know how much I adore Sho-kun ♥

Before I show you the stuff I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be making something off Sho-kun's recent mag scans. It will be those from his recent beautiful Hanako photoshoot and those incredibly hot and mesmerizing AnAn scans :] I was thinking of NOT making anything out of those scans because so many other people already made such beautiful things off them but since I'm still getting requests for those and I'm still receiving multiple scans on my gmail...I figured i might as well give it a try. So now that you've read this, please patiently wait for them...and DO NOT send me those scans anymore because I already have them and they're just taking up so much space. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful messages too^^

Going back to MY SHO-kun...my precious ♥
Here's the stuff!! Enjoy them :]
I think there's about 61 different things^^
Desktop & Phone wallpapers -- Still & Animated Icons

PLEASE DO NOT COPY, STEAL & MODIFY!!
for DESKTOP wallpapers, click thumbnails to full view, download & save!!
Credits & Comments are LOVE :]

(9) DESKTOP WALLPERS

I made 6 different versions because I'm not sure about what everyone would like XD I was originally going to use it as my header for my LJ. I was thinking of going with a new red/black theme for Sho-kun's birthday and also for Valentines. I ended up not being able to decide on the text as well XD anyway, Sho-kun's recent AnAn is really hot and sexy...but I think he's really hot & sexy too when he's performing on stage :]

I really love the text I used on this one^^
i thought that it was really really cute :]
I actually made it out of the wallpaper below XD
I'm trying to be ECO too!!

Yes, this is the modified wallpaper version of my current LJ theme XD
That picture of Sho-chan coming out of the TV totally cracks me up^^
I put Sho-kun in a heart too!!

Because Sho-fangirls need to have a city of their own :]
YOU guys should seriously read what's on the danger sign^^
Out of the entire thing, that's probably what I thought is the most interesting.
MAYBE I'll make NeenerTown, AiBakaLand, Ohno-Machi & Jun-DOS City :]

(17)PHONE WALLPERS
Seems like people found so many other places to use this^^
Hope you'll have fun with these too...

(35)ICONS *still&animated*
Not the best out there but I thought they'd be fun as icons anyway.
I really LOVE the moving heart icons!!
Guess those will be my early Valentine gifts for you guys then XD

Happy Birthday
SAKURAI SHO ♥
I'm sure you'll have another wonderful year!!
Always keep safe & be happy :]

May your coming year be filled with magic & dreams & good madness. I hope you read some fine books & kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, & don't forget to make some art - write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can; & I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

I LOVE YOU ♥
In life, you'll find one person who'll touch you in a way that will forever change you.
For me, that person is YOU.

GFX Update 01.23.10 -- 2NE1, TomaPi, DARAGON

2010-01-23T10:59:00.000-08:00

New Update (finally!!) I finished some of the requests and here they are^^ Since so much people seem to love the idea of having matching phone wallies, I made some again as well. Hope you'll enjoy both the desktop & phone wallies. Oh, I have lots of requests for 2NE1 "friends only" banners, I made 4 versions so hope you'll have fun with those too!! This update features 2NE1, DARAGON couple, and Toma&Pi (Yamapi & Toma). Enjoy them!!

To those people requesting LJ headers (the pic on the top of your LJ) please let me know the size you need. Also, it would be great if you guys can send me the pics you want me to use. Thanks a lot to everyone who dropped by or will be dropping by and happy days!!

Do not copy, steal, and modify!!
Please click thumbnails to view original size^^
Credits & Comments are LOVE :]

DESKTOP WALLPAPERS

I made this for a forum quite some time ago but a few people wanted it for their desktop too so here's a desktop version for those who are still interested. Have fun using it!!

I cannot recall who requested this but she sent me the pic. Thank you so much hun!! I didn't put their names as you requested and I also left some clean space for you on the left side as you requested. Enjoy using it^^

my first ever "daragon" wallpaper!! a lot of my kpop buddies have been waiting for this one. i'm so sorry that it took so long *smacks self* anyway, i put 2 butterflies!! you can see them right? i think the text i chose goes well with it too^^ oh and don't worry, there's lots of space on the left for all your desktop icons too!! *jean had a hard time finding that matching gd pic...*

TOMAPI (Yamashita Tomohisa & Ikuta Toma)
I made 4 versions for everyone to enjoy^^
I received the same scans from various people *nervous laugh*
Anyway, request fulfilled...have fun with the boys :]

"FRIENDS ONLY" BANNERS

2NE1 "Friends Only!!" Banners
I can't remember who requested this again & it's really hard to back-read on my LJ inbox because i have so much stuff there *sighs* I think there was 2 of them but I'm not that sure. Anyway, someone just sent me some 2NE1 fila scans from sandara-park.tk -- I'll work on those stuff soon so thanks so much for the pics :]

PHONE WALLPAPERS

It's been raining like mad here in LA. Last Friday my assistant caught a cold so I sent her home early. Anyway, I hope I don't catch a bug of some sort or something...it would be awful if I get sick *nooo!!* Sho-chan's bday is coming up...I really want to get a cake but I'll be doing overtime that day and there's a hue chance that the cake shop will be closed by the time I leave my office...speaking of birthdays, my lovely LJ buddy Nat-chan is celebrating hers on the 24th**and because she's a very special person to me and to everyone else...I thought I'd make her a little something^^

Nat-chan, are you reading this? As much as Sho and I would love to strip Neenernator and send him to you...we figured it would be much better if we provided you with a harem instead. This way you have a good selection of men to molest whenever you wish. Because tomorrow is your special day and we happened to find 4 gorgeous men who are very willing(and totally gorgeous)...I'm presenting them to you here:

yup, it's a wallpaper version^^
i even included a bit of "aibaka-ness"
click the thumbnail NOW!!
i don't know what size you use though *gomenasai*
and here's a phone version too
so that you can brag about your harem to everyone :]

have a very wonderful birthday Nat-chan^^ also, thanks again for the lovely Sho-drawing you made for me on my bday last year :] enjoy your harem hun! sho-chan and i had a hard time getting those 4 for you^^we tried to get yuma-kun too but old man johnny chased me out of the jimusho (he's upset that i won't give back the SHO!!)...then there was the rest of BREAKERZ but they outran us...also SEAMO but he managed to untie himself while we were busy stalking Toma-sama *sparkles*

with Meredith (My BFF!!)

2010-01-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

Meredith and I always go out after Christmas. Somehow, it's like a tradition XD Last holiday we wanted to go somewhere again. In the end, we just stayed in LA. Still it was very fun^^ We went to just the usual places. We talked and laughed so much too!! I'm glad that even though we live so far from each other...we don't have some sort of gap^^

So, I'm sharing some pics again!!
Taken last December 26 & 27 of the year 2009.

After about a year of not seeing each other.
We finally met around noon on the 26th XD
We we're both hungry so we figured we have to eat lunch first.
Since she lives near Korea Town we decided to have lunch there.
We just walked around and ate at a random place that appealed to us.
I can't remember the restaurants name.
I really love the half-cooked egg...I kinda want to eat some right now XD

After lunch we took the train to go to China Town.
We went there to eat meat buns XD
We figured that if we're eating meat buns...it has to be from China Town^^

pictures of the waiting area. i had to take a pic because i swear i kinda remember sho-chan & jun-kun sitting on seats like these when they were younger XD my bff was laughing at me the entire time when i said that maybe sho-chan and jun-kun sat on the ones we we're sitting on XD she's an arashi fangirl too btw and her ichiban is neenernator!!

platform pics^^
we were getting ready to board the train!!
i took a kinda-stolen pic of meredith & i.
i failed XD

Some China Town pics. I kinda forgot to take some because we had so much fun talking. The entire time we were on the train we listened to 2NE1!! A really funny incident happened to us but I can't share it because it's a secret between her and I. In the end we didn't get any meat buns...since it was still kinda early we decided to go to Little Tokyo and have dinner there^^

When we got to Little Tokyo we dropped by the Sakura Mall first because I wanted to get some cream-puffs and she wanted to check out one of the stores there that sell lots of cute stuff!! We ate some and I got so much of the powder on my blue coat. She said I eat like a kid XD

For dinner we tried out Suehiro Cafe. I had some beef terriyaki and pork katsu^^ We also had a scoop of rocky road ice cream for dessert. A lot of youngsters hang-out there. My bff and I sat on the counter and ate while chatting and watching funny arashi clips on my phone. We almost died cracking up when we watched an old episode old D no Arashi when they played Aiba's board game and Ohno had to sniff a really stinky shoe and he had a stocking on his head.

While we were enjoying our meal my phone suddenly went off and played "poririzumu" by perfume...really loudly XD the other people eating turned around to stare at me as I tried to make the darn thing stop. My bff was cracking up the entire time.

Some stuff we ate there.
Whenever I go there I always have to get some^^

Moving on, we met again on the 27th. We didn't have much time cause she's heading to Norwalk around 5pm I think. We decided to meat up for lunch. Originally we wanted to go to the Beverly Center and shop but we ended up at "The Grove" I forgot to mention that she bought matching "mono-kuro-boo" shirts for us^^ We wore them that day XD

We decided to go to Gap and get scarves but they didn't have any XD They were having a sale at Victoria's Secret so we headed there and got undies XD She pointed out to me that one of the girls working there went to our HS too. She noticed because that person was staring at us or something. So I just told me bff...that's nice but I don't recognize her at all XD We spent a lot of time at Barnes & Nobles reading manga!!

We headed to the Farmer's Market too^^
We ended up buying lots of nuts from there XD

There was an old style gas station there.
I thought it was kinda awesome so I took pics^^

What we had for lunch. Lately I've been eating lots of pasta. I make some alfredo pasta in the morning and put bacon, sausages and hot chips on it XD The entire 2009 we were only able to see each other a day and a half XD Still it was good...it was really good^^ It's definitely much more laid back than what we used to do before...I told her that it must be because were getting older XD Anyway, she's back to college and I'm off to work. Most likely we won't meet again til late December XD I forgot to take pics of our presents and the stuff we bought.....oh well...

It's my new work phone!! My boss gave it to me for Christmas!!
My old one was an LG or was it Samsung...flip phone^^
My boss pays for it so I only use it to call.
I call so much people in a day though XD

Oh, and because someone asked me to share a pic of how my personal phone looks I'm sharing this pic. Is it surprising that I make phone wallies and yet my wallpaper is of roses?? Well, I switch wallies all the time XD I have quite a lot of charms on it. The charms are heavier than my phone. I always carry 2 phones with me. My personal one and my work one^^

I couldn't decide between the 2 images above so I ended up with the gif below XD It's for my partner in crime...Chii-chan of LJ & DA^^ This is so late already but anyway, I hope that you had a lovely time!! May all your wishes *including molesting a very naked Sho-kun tied to your bed posts* come true!! happy happy birthday to you...may the SHO be with you!!

Oh, and here's a wallpaper for my Chii-chan.
It's crappy XD very crappy but the text is awesome^^

Anyway, I'll share new graphics again by next week.
I have TomaPi and DaraGon.
Oh, and some other things...
I'm off to make pancakes^^
Happy weekend guys *hugs*

Christmas and New Year!!

2010-01-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

I'm posting this so late^^ I figured I'd do some pic spamming XD
To those wondering where the usual graphics went, they'll be on another post which I'll probably post next week!! Anyway, how was everyone's holiday? I hope most of you had a fantastic time^^ The holidays this year were pretty harsh on me XD I was constantly sleepy and dead tired. I also worked, worked, and worked. I think I'm becoming old now XD

I'll start off with our new year celebration!!
Because it's is more recent and then move on to Christmas :]

See the pic above^^ That's the place where Jean celebrated her new year.
It's the Glendale Adventist Hospital.

My grandmother was admitted there after Christmas. Anyway, we went there to celebrate the new year with her. We bought tons of food with us too!! *but I was busy taking pics of grandma so I forgot to take food pics!!* After the 2010 countdown we drank some sparkling apple cider *no alcohol allowed in the hospital!!* It wasn't that bad and it was actually pretty fun cause my other relatives came too^^ Btw, she got out a few days ago!!

*

Here are a couple pics of my grandmother.
She may be hospitalized but she's radiant as ever^^
I probably tired her out XD
It's kinda strange seeing her with wires, tubes and stuff.

Oh and here's a pic of Rachel (my cousin/god-daughter)
She goes to school now^^
I blurred out the bg because it says biohazard and stuff XD

That's it for my new year pics XD
Now I'll share some Christmas pics!!

I'm always in the office. This is how my office windows currently look^^ The cards we received from other people we work with, are taped them on the window XD So now, I don't open them at all and I can't really see out because the cards are obstructing my view. The cards look lovely like that I think...much better than just storing them in a box or something. This definitely brought some holiday cheer in my office!! I don't know when I'll take them down though...

The pictures above are from "The Americana"
I go there often even though "The Grove" is closer to me.
But that's because this place is close to my grandparents house XD
The pictures above are taken with my phone^^
It's of the huge Christmas tree there, Santa's House and the Fountain.

That's a pic of what I wear on the 24th. From the office to my grandma's house, to church for mass, to grandma's house again and finally home!! The heels are totally to die for^^ They're seriously so pretty that I squealed when I saw them at the store!! I paired it up with a short sleeve casual t-shirt mini dress with a stud embellished waistline!! Lately I've been wearing lots of combo dresses like this one^^ Something casual and easy to move in.

This is what I wore on the 25th. I seriously love that blue high-neck double breasted coat you see on the picture. I just about wore it everywhere!! It's perfect buttoned up and buttoned down. The tie on the waist is really awesome too!! I wore a lilac mini satin skirt and a sequin embellished stripe tank...both are from "forever 21" I wore the same heels again just because I couldn't resist^^ Thinking about it now, I should have worn this for the new year...I think I should have worn a dress instead XD

My next purchase would be another pair of boots and probably a tunic dress, they look great with sweater tights and they're perfect for work this winter. Although most likely I'd end up buying something else...because I'm always buying on impulse XD Right now, I'm shopping for spring/summer apparel for work so again, it feels a little out of place. Kinda like how we bought coats and winter stuff when it was summer still XD But that's how it is, we have to always be ahead^^

I wasn't able to take lots of food pics XD
My family kept telling me to not take pics anymore and just eat^^
Anyway, here are some of the stuff we had :]
They're all really yummy!!

Here's a picture of our tree^^ There's so much presents again!!
It seriously looked like the presents we're taking over the living room XD
The gift cards, we hung them on the tree too^^

Here's a picture of my grandparents again!!
This was right before grandma got hospitalized.
Lately, whenever I see them...I think of Mago-Mago Arashi XD
I'm sure my grandparents would love to have ARASHI as their grandkids.
Most likely, my grandparents will drive them mad too XD
My grandfather is already 80-something but he's so strong!!
He loves fruits a whole lot and he always makes smoothies^^
Grandma loves to sing, cook and draw.
She also has lots of stories to tell.
She laughs all the time and is really silly...

My cousins. Daniel and Karen.
They wanted to see how many presents they got.
There's a bit of a scuffle too XD
But really that's what makes the holidays fun^^
bickering and acting silly over presents :]

Here's Karen's dad. My uncle Joseph.
He's a really funny nice guy.

My dad is really quite funny too.
Whenever they hang-out they cause chaos...and roars of laughter!!
Sometimes I want to put "comedian" under my dad's occupation.
My friends love hanging out with my dad too and they always invite him out XD

Cousins again. Michael and Russell.
Michael just came home from army training.
He's a really smart guy (Karen's brother) & he's a really smart guy^^
Russell(Rachel's brother) joined some dance crews recently.
Somehow he's like Neener...obsessed with his games XD

Oh, I forgot...here's a pic of me^^ I took it when we were about to head home. Around 4am I think. Posting this because my friends complain that I rarely take and post pics of myself XD It's always of food and stuff^^ I want to dye my hair for spring...

I skipped pics of opening presents and stuff.
Oh, and of other people too...
Because if I did, there will be so much XD
I received a lot again^^
So, to everyone...thank you so much**