finish this v14

This is part of a weekly series I got from Ruthie Hart titled, finish this.

1. My favorite recipe is... either this recipe for tropical quinoa wraps or my dad's pineapple salsa (which I will be sharing with you all very soon).

pineapple salsa

2. I believe in... second chances. I was married before and didn't think I would ever experience a relationship like some of my friends had. I thought that maybe it just wasn't in the stars for me. Luckily, I was able to get out of that marriage and get my second chance. 

my second chance

3. I need to set boundaries... with my food. I LOVE food and that isn't always so great for my girlish figure. So I need to set boundaries like not eating 10 cupcakes after dinner. Just yesterday I limited it to only 2 cupcakes!

4. I began living when... at age 26 I was suddenly single after 9 years, dealing with a divorce and responsible for a brand new mortgage on a huge 2400 square foot home. I know it may sound odd to say I began living when it seemed like the life I had built came crashing down around me, but I did. I was finally able to focus on me and not live in the vicious cycle that was my past marriage. Without going into too much detail, that relationship had turned me into someone I did not recognize, someone who just got through each day. Once I was out of it, I began to live. 

wedding wednesdays-the bridal shower

relaxing by the pool

I wanted my bridal shower to be low key and more of a get together of friends rather than a big deal with gifts and over the top decor, food, etc. My sister planned it and we held the shower at my mom's house. I had requested no gifts so that no one felt like they had to bring me something in order to attend. 

the invites

We had a mimosa bar with lots of types of champagne, juices and fresh fruit. I had a few games planned out but not many of the usual ones because those bridal shower games tend to get old. One game we had was a memory game. Each guest wrote down a memory that they shared with the bride (me) but didn't write their name. I then read each memory out loud and all the guests had to guess who wrote the memory. The guest with the most correct won a little prize. It was a low maintenance game that led us to lots of laughs. 

mimosa bar

opening gifts

The afternoon was mostly us girls relaxing and sharing stories and enjoying some snacks and mimosas. My step-daughter Kiera was able to come as well so the afternoon ended in a little swimming pool session. My sister made favors for the guests as well. They were a little bag with soap and a candle and were labeled with "From Corinne's Shower To Yours." The party was just what I wanted and my sister did a great job with everything!

the favors

enjoying the pool

cupcakes, flags and more

view from the beach bar

The long weekend is over and we had some fun, sat on our butts and did a little exploring. We went to happy hour down the street Friday night and then proceeded to lay around all day Saturday and relax. Going out for a few beers these days seem to really slow us down the next day. We definitely aren't 22 anymore!

festive & delicious cupcakes

The rest of the weekend was rainy so planning any decent beach time was out of the question. Sunday we ran a few errands and then I tried my hand at baking. I made cupcakes from scratch and also tried a homemade buttercream recipe. I flavored the buttercream with a little coconut extract and it turned out very yummy.

 every flag a life

US & Guam flags

Monday we went down to Asan Beach to see the flags on display for Memorial Day. It was a humbling to see all the flags that represented a life lost during the battle for Guam. The 1880 US flags and 1170 Guam flags. I'm glad we were able to see it and spend some time there. It was also nice to see a lot of people at the memorial honoring those lost. 

 the north end of the tide pools

 there's a little cave in that large rock

Tarague tide pools

After leaving the memorial we took a trip to the Air Force base so I could show George the tide pools. I had been down to the two beaches on base, but had never known about the tide pools. My friend, Olivia, showed them to me about a month ago and knew I needed to take George there. I wasn't 100% sure about the path to get to them and even though George kept doubting my route, we made it! We spent a couple of hours there just looking at all the fish. It was nice because it was a cloudy day so it wasn't too hot nor did we have the sun beating down on us. 

the husband

All in all, a good weekend of relaxing before the girls get here next week!

memorial day weekend

How can it already be Memorial Day? It seems like just yesterday it was the summer before our wedding yet it feels like ages ago at the same time. George has a four day weekend and it's also our last weekend together before the girls come out for the summer! I'm so excited to see them and share the island with them. 

Anyways, I just want to tell everyone to have a good Memorial Day weekend. Have lots of fun, enjoy your friends & family and be safe! Just don't forget what the day is about. May all the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice be in your thoughts this weekend. I know we'll be thinking about George's grandpa, Commander Robert C. Hessom. It's hard to conceptualize the sacrifice that George's family made for our country. We are eternally grateful for what you and your loved ones have given. We thank you for your service, may you rest in peace.

Comdr. Robert C. Hessom

the wall in DC

finish this v13

This is part of a weekly series I got from Ruthie Hart titled, finish this.

1. A lesson I learned from my mom... champagne bubbles go straight to your head! 

2. To burn calories, I... go to the gym and work out on the elliptical or bike. I used to love to go on long bike rides back in California, which burned a ton of calories! However, the roads here aren't the safest for cyclists so I left my bike back home. 

bike around the buttes a few years ago

3. The best hair day was... I can't think of one day in mind. I know I loved my hair for my wedding though! Also, anytime I leave my hairdresser, my hair always looks great!

4. I am grateful for... my husband and all he does for me. I love being able to stay home and focus on my business and taking care of our home and us. I am also very grateful for the fact that when his girls, my step-daughters, come out in less than 2 weeks, I'll be able to stay home with them. 

wedding wednesdays-the photo booth

One of the last minute things we added on was a photo booth. We had thought about it when we first started planning, but after looking into them, we realized they were crazy expensive. A month or so before our wedding, one of my amazing friends mentioned that her mom does them and she changes a reasonable price. So we talked to her mom and ended up booking her to provide a photo booth for our wedding. I am so glad we did. She had a bunch of fun props and gave all our guests a copy of their pictures as well as created a scrap book of all the photos taken that night. And we got the digital copies on a disc. Not only did we get all these things, but she gave them to us before she left for the night! I think our guests had a lot of fun with it and it provided an activity for everyone to keep the party going. Here are a few of my favorites from the night!

my girlfriends and I

 the mr. and mrs.

 yep. that's our minister

 my silly step-daughters

 george and his friends

that would be our friend, brett, hitting on the photo booth owner!

photography detour

close-up of the flame tree

Every time I drive south of us, I drive past this park in downtown Hagåtña with the most vibrant, beautiful flame trees. There's so much beauty on the island but there's something so striking about the flame trees. I always tell myself that next time I head south, I need to bring my camera so I can stop and take pictures. This past weekend I finally brought my camera with me and stopped for a little photo op. 

Sirena at San Antonio Bridge park

I had never been to the park before, but besides the beautiful flame tree, there was this statue of Sirena. She is a mermaid who is part of an old legend in Guam. I don't want to butcher the story by paraphrasing, so you can read about the folktale of Sirena, here. I just loved the way the statue was posed and you can see the wear and tear the island has taken on her.

Sirena

movies movies movies

All last week I was sick. Which meant no working out, limited chores getting accomplished and a lot of laying on the couch. By the time the weekend rolled around, I was feeling somewhat better but not up to going out or anything crazy. This was also the first weekend since George finished his classes this semester. Which meant we could actually have some quality time together. Since I still wasn't feeling 100% we hung around the house Friday night and rented a movie. We rented 21 Jump Street because Channing Tatum and it was really funny! We rarely watch movies and we ended up watching 3 this weekend.

trying not to burn up at Ypao beach

Saturday we went to Ypao beach so George could play with his GoPro. He bought it months ago and still hasn't had time to take it to the beach and film anything. He made a couple of underwater videos while snorkeling. I sat on the beach and just about died from heat stroke. Not really, but daaaannnnggg was it hot! That night we had a date night and went to see a movie and to eat dinner. We went and saw Neighbors and then went and bellied up at Ruby Tuesdays. The movie was funny and dinner was tasty. Ruby Tuesdays has become our spot since it's right down the street, next to the movie theater and serves consistent food. It also reminds us a little of home because we used to belly up at the bar at Applebee's back home. 

about to display my photos

Sunday George went golfing and I did a little shopping at the NEX and framed some of my recent photos. I love that I can display my own work around our house! That night we rented and watched our third movie of the weekend. Since the first two movies we saw were comedies, we decided to rent a more serious movie. We rented Gravity. At first I was a little skeptical because Sandra Bullock is hard to take seriously sometimes, but the movie was good. We were definitely on the edge of our seats most of the time. I made Thai chicken pizza for dinner Sunday night and it was so good. I'm going to make it again this week and take some good pictures of it. Look for the recipe on here int he next week or two!

Thai chicken pizza... I'll post my recipe soon!

lettuce wraps

a little siracha to add some heat

Back in California George and I ate at P.F. Chang's and ordered their lettuce wraps as an appetizer. We both loved them and I started searching for recipes to make them at home. We tried a few and then one day at the store, I found a sauce packet by Lee Kum Kee for lettuce wraps. We tried it and they were so delicious! Of course, it's kind of cheating by just buying a pre made sauce packet, but they were so yummy so I didn't care. 

Fast forward to us living in Guam. The sauce packets are no where to be found. How can that be? The stores here have tons of oriental and island style food selections but this one particular sauce is not available out here. So when my parents came to visit in March, they asked if we wanted them to bring anything from the states. Guess what I asked for? This sauce packet! 

We made them the other night and they were just as good as we remembered! We even found really fresh and tasty butter lettuce that's locally grown by Grow Guam. 

so tasty

finish this v12

This is a weekly series I got from Ruthie Hart titled, finish this.

1. My last growing pain was... getting older in general? I don't remember ever having growing pains but as I get older I do notice things tend to hurt a little more and it takes me a little longer in the morning to get things warmed up.

2. I grow and nurture... all my relationships from my marriage to my friendships. As I've gotten older, I've realized that there are a very small handful of people I want in my "hula-hoop" as my friend Casey calls it. Those small handful of relationships are what I try to grow and nurture. Being 6,000 miles away from everyone (except my husband) makes it difficult at times. However, with those few friends and family that I hold dear, I try to make some sort of contact a few times a month.

3. The guilt-free snack I enjoy most is... fresh fruit. I love a crunchy pear, fresh juicy pineapple and super ripe strawberries!

4. The best reason to stay up all night is... hanging out with my husband catching up on one of "our shows" or just talking through the night about randomness.

5. If I were stranded on a desert island, I'd... set up shelter in the shade and figure out a way to get rescued!

I'm official

Well, it's official... I'm a business owner on Guam! After working on my business and getting everything ready, I went and got my business license! It took me most of the day to run around and get all the required clearances but it was still relatively easy. I had to meet with several different people and all of them were so friendly and helpful. I had a great conversation with one woman and we talked about everything from Guam fiestas to potato salad. It just reminded me how friendly and welcoming the locals here are. I feel very fortunate to live here and be able to hopefully work with lots of new people while I'm here.

fancy new business cards!

mother's day weekend

We had quite an eventful weekend considering George had so much school to catch up on. We started off Friday night by checking out a dive bar down the street for happy hour. It was such a relaxing place, just our style. It is kind of a dive bar, but it's right on the beach and it's low key. We stayed there for a while and then went next door to Meskla on the Cove for dinner.

view from our table at the bar, that's George and his friend going for a romantic walk

As we were walking up to our condo after dinner, I noticed there were water lilies growing in one of the little koi ponds. I don't think I've ever seen one in real life! I hadn't noticed them before because they close up during the day.

water lilies!

On Saturday, George spent all day working on school so I just hung around the house and did some photo editing. That night though we met up with friends for dinner at Al Dente at the Hyatt. We had a really good dinner and some tasty bottles of wine. 

my step-mother's day surprise

Sunday morning I woke up to flowers, cupcakes and champagne sitting on the kitchen table. I was so confused as to why George had done this for me. It took a minute, but I realized it was Mother's Day and it was my first one since we've been married and I was officially a step-mother. I totally didn't expect anything, but George wanted to do something for me. It was perfect, cupcakes and champagne, my favorite! He got me my two favorite flavors of cupcake from Infusion, the Pumpkin Cheesecake and Haupia. Yummy! The rest of the day was spent around the house since George had to finish all his finals for school. Hope everyone out there had a great Mother's Day!

finish this v11

This is part of a weekly series I got from Ruthie Hart titled, finish this.

1. My favorite makeup item is... mascara. I rarely wear makeup anymore because we're either at the beach, pool or I'm heading to the gym. When we do go out or meet up with friends, I'll wear makeup and mascara is always the one thing that makes the most dramatic difference.

2. The best book I ever read was... I can't really remember a lot of the books I've read. I remember Iris Johansen's The Killing Game had me hooked and I finished it really fast.

3. My favorite TV show is... George and I have gotten hooked on so many shows but I think my favorite show right now is Sons of Anarchy. The plots are so well written and always make you think and pay attention. And Jax, oh hellllloooooooo...

4. The most spontaneous thing I've ever done is... if you know me at all, you know that spontaneity is not something I possess. I like to plan. I can't even think of anything spontaneous that I've done lately. For me, changing up my grocery shopping day is spontaneous, yet nothing to write about. Lame, I know!

5. I prefer cats over dogs because... they don't require as much attention. You can also leave them at home with some extra food and water if you want to take a weekend vacation. I love dogs too, but I love me some kittens!

6. I met my husband... at work almost 10 years ago. We worked together for years before we actually started dating.