Tag: Friends

The Monthly Recap: July 2018

Posted August 7, 2018 by Rowena in Features | 2 Comments

What I Did

Family pictures: My month started off with family pictures on the beach in Redondo Beach. I thought it was going to take much longer than it actually took. There are 9 of us and we all have hella kids between us but we were done within 3 hours. We almost made it through the entire shoot without any issues but then little Caleb fell into the ocean with his cast so between his family pictures and the rest of our big family pictures that we took a couple of hours later, his shorts are 8 shades darker but he’s still a cutie patootie.

The picture above is one with just my siblings and my Pops. We’re missing my sister Ingrid but everyone else is there and I really like this one.

Here’s a picture from me and Brenna’s shots. It’s my favorite. I love the background with the Palos Verdes cliffs, it’s a gorgeous shot.

David’s Funeral: My month ended with a funeral for one of my good friends David. He suffered from depression and struggled with it for a while. I’m going to miss him but am glad that he’s finally at peace. It was really good to see everyone that came out to pay their respects. Lots and lots of our friends from Church came out, which was nice because everyone is so spread out. We have people in Utah, Arizona, all parts of California but everyone came home to say their final goodbyes to David and that made me happy for him.

What I Read

1. Coming Undone (Brown Family #2) by Lauren Dane | 4.25 out of 5
2. The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely | 4 out of 5
3. Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison | 3 out of 5
4. Baby Daddy by Kendall Ryan | 3 out of 5
5. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han | 4.5 out of 5
6. P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han | 4.75 out of 5
7. Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han | 4.75 out of 5
8. A Duke by Default (Reluctant Royals #2) by Alyssa Cole | 4.25 out of 5

Book Boyfriends

Michael Phan in The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Hunter Cross in I Think I Love You by Lauren Layne
Peter Kavinsky in P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
Peter Kavinsky in Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

What I Reviewed

Good Kids (2016) | 3.75 out of 5
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang | 5 out of 5
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) | 4 out of 5
Sea Swept by Nora Roberts | 4.25 out of 5
I Think I Love You by Lauren Layne | 4.5 out of 5
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han | 4.5 out of 5
Double Standards by Judith McNaught | 4 out of 5
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han | 4.75 out of 5
The Kissing Booth (2018) | 3.25 out of 5
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han | 4.75 out of 5

What I Posted

Week in Review (92)
Monthly Recap: June 2018
Can’t Wait Wednesday: When a Duke Loves a Woman by Lorraine Heath
Week in Review (93)
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Down with Love by Kate Meader
Week in Review (94)
Can’t Wait Wednesday: The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting
Week in Review (95)
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Forget You, Ethan by Whitney G
Throwback Thursday: Saying Goodbye to David
The Weekly Recap (96)
My TBR Pile: August 2018

What I Bought

Save the Date by Carrie Aarons
Crank (The Gibson Boys #1) by Adriana Locke
Cross (The Gibson Boys #2.5) by Adriana Locke
Getting Schooled by Emma Chase
Baby Daddy by Kendall Ryan
Book Boyfriend (Book Boyfriends #1) by Claire Kingsley
Cocky Roommate (Book Boyfriends #2) by Claire Kingsley
The Soldier Prince by Aarti V. Raman
Coming Undone (Brown Family #2) by Lauren Dane
Cocky Client (Steamy Coffee Reads #3) by Whitney G.
Beginner’s Luck (Chance of a Lifetime #1) by Kate Clayborn
Luck of the Draw (Chance of a Lifetime #2) by Kate Clayborn
Grumpy Fake Boyfriend (Kwan Sisters #1) by Jackie Lau
Mr. Hotshot CEO (Kwan Sisters #2) by Jackie Lau
Stay by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

What I Got for Review

All the Way by Kristen Proby
Fight or Flight by Samantha Young

What I Listened To

These are the three most listened to songs for me in the month of July. I have so much love for all of these songs.

What I Watched on TV

I enjoyed each of the shows I watched, even in some parts, 13 Reasons Why Season 2. There was a lot going on and while I was still frustrated with how shitty those kids were, in the end, I’m glad that I watched it. Suits and Take Two are both great shows that I’m really liking and Kims Convenience cracks me up. Goodness I love Asian comedy shows and movies.

What Movies I Watched

1. Forever My Girl (2018) | 4 out of 5
2. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) | 3.75 out of 5
3. How it Ends (2018) | 4.25 out of 5
4. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) | 3.75 out of 5
Locke (2013) | 3.25 out of 5
Blackway (2015) | 3.5 out of 5
The Loft (2014) | 3.5 out of 5
Love, Simon (2018) | 5 out of 5
The Commuter (2018) | 4.25 out of 5

What I Loved

Having this guy around…

There you have it, the month of July in my life. How did your July treat you? Read anything good? Do anything fun? Share in the comments!

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Throwback Thursday: Saying Goodbye to David

Posted July 26, 2018 by Rowena in Features | 10 Comments

This week’s Throwback Thursday post will be a little different from my normal old school book review. It’ll be much more personal as I’m deeply saddened and need an outlet to get all of this out.

Recently, a good friend of mine passed away and he’s been on my mind ever since. We said our final goodbyes to him yesterday and I thought his funeral was a good one. He was loved so much and it was evident at the funeral services. His family came out in droves and so did his friends.

My best friend Theresa and I have been reminiscing about all of the shenanigans we used to get into with our group of friends, David included. David was one of those boys in Church that was so bad. In Samoan, we call it ulavale. David and Ralph were the very definition of ulavale. Think, Dennis the Menace type of shenanigans. They were bad in Church and they were bad at school. As a kid, David and Ralph used to make me so mad because I was the good girl who worried about our Sunday School teacher’s feelings. So as a child, David and Ralph were not my favorite people but that changed once we started high school.

David and Ralph were still bad but we became close during our freshman year in high school. I laughed so much being in their company and I got into so much trouble hanging out with them because they were always getting up to no good. Some of my favorite memories were during that first year at North High School because they were so fearless and always up for anything but the one thing that I appreciated more than anything during that year was how protective they were of me.

Sure, they were out doing bad boy things and I was around for some of it but I never felt like I was in danger because they took such good care of me. It didn’t matter where we were or what we were doing, I was able to freely enjoy whatever it was that we were doing because David and Ralph took care of everything else. I still don’t know how we survived our freshman year of high school, but we did. We survived being chased by a car full of gangbangers. We survived many good ol’ Samoan punishments, the changing of friends, Ralph and David’s many fights on and off campus. I’m telling you, they were such bad boys but I loved them.

After our freshman year in high school, David and Ralph transferred to other schools and our little Nu’umau gang (the only kind of gang I was in, a Church one) broke up. I was still friends with both of them but David was sent to St. Louis so we didn’t see each other all that much. We reconnected years later, as adults at our friend Foti’s father’s funeral. It was early last year. It surprised absolutely no one that our first outing together as a reunited group of friends was to the strip club. David drove us around that night and when I mentioned that I hadn’t ever been to a strip club, David drove us to one. SMH, what an experience that was and I do believe that I blogged about that briefly.

That night jumped off a most epic summer for our circle of friends. We spent most of the week in each others company, trying to figure out what to do. Most of the time, we would meet up at David’s and hang out there. David would grill countless jalapeno burgers, so many jalapeno burgers that I would bitch and moan about wanting to eat something different but those guys would just laugh at me and hand me a burger, which I ate.

Fourth of July won’t be the same anymore because nobody threw a 4th of July BBQ quite like David did. His parties were always epic and over the top but so much fun. Even when he wasn’t throwing a party, every 4th of July, I would think of him.

As summer wound down and fall began to seep in, everyone got busy and we didn’t hang out nearly as much as we did over the summer but one of the things that we told each other was that we weren’t going to lose touch. We wouldn’t go years and years without speaking and when I got the phone call that he was gone, dozens of memories from our childhood and memories from just last summer flew around my head and I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it because, no. We promised that we wouldn’t lose touch and I didn’t realize how much time had passed since we last spoke. I didn’t realize a lot of things but as surreal as all of this is, yesterday, we said our final goodbyes and my heart still hurts for him. For his family and the stepdaughters that he left behind. My heart hurts for my friends who loved him and my heart hurts for me. He was a good friend and I’ll miss him always.

I hope you found the peace that you were seeking David and I hope you know how much we loved you.

Until we meet again my friend,

Ween

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Week in Review (94)

Posted July 16, 2018 by Rowena in Features | 2 Comments

A few things happened last week that really knocked me on my ass. My workload has since tripled since my boss has been on vacation so I’ve been really busy and stressed over some work-related things and then as I was getting ready for work on Tuesday, my brother called me to tell me that one of our close friends died and it was sudden, unexpected and I’ve been thrown for a loop. So I’ve been dealing with that and trying to be there for my friends and it’s just been a hard week all around. I did manage to lose myself in books so I’m happy about that.

Now, onto the books…

What I’m Currently Reading
Week in Review (94)P.S. I Still Love You
by Jenny Han
Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before #2
Also in this series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before, P.S. I Still Love You, Always and Forever, Lara Jean
Published by Simon & Schuster, Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers on May 26, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 337
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter. She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever. When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

It’s been an odd week. After the news that my friend David had passed on, I’ve been in a funky mood. I don’t want to go out, I don’t want to be around people but I did want to read. So I did. I was supposed to start A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole and while I still have plans to read it, I started my buddy review book To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han and I just kept right on reading the books. I finished To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before yesterday and immediately jumped into this one. So far, I’m really enjoying it and I’m really loving Peter Kavinsky. Gah, what an adorable book boyfriend. I love him.

What I Read

The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely | 4 out of 5
Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison | 3 out of 5
Baby Daddy by Kendall Ryan | 3.25 out of 5
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han | 4.5 out of 5

My favorite read of the week goes to To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han. I just thought it was the cutest story and I’m super stoked about the movie coming out next month.

My least favorite book is probabaly the Beth Harbison book because it was super slow and not at all what I was expecting or wanted. Oh well.

What I Reviewed

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | 4 out of 5
I Think I Love You by Lauren Layne | 4.5 out of 5
Sea Swept by Nora Roberts | 4.25 out of 5

What I Posted

Week in Review (93)
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Down with Love by Kate Meader

What I Got

Grumpy Fake Boyfriend by Jackie Lau
Mr. Hotshot CEO by Jackie Lau

What I Got for Review

No new books for review this week. I still haven’t checked anything or requested anything. Maybe next week.

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

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The Girls Went to see Sammy J

Posted April 27, 2016 by Rowena in Personal | 0 Comments

I have been dying to see Sammy J in concert ever since I found out that he was coming to California way back in January. At the time, I was pretty obsessed with his song Waiting and with his voice as well. I remember sitting in the stands at Brenna’s game one night, singing along to the song playing on my phone when I started googling his tour dates. I found out that he was going to be in town in April and immediately asked my friends to go with me.

I got responses immediately from most of them and they were all a go…and this is one of the things we planned on that we actually followed through on. Mulu and I didn’t make it out to Vegas for the Rugby tournament but I wasn’t going to miss out on Sammy J too.

I had a blast. We missed the first opening act, The Late Ones (haha, we were the late ones that night) which was a bummer because I actually know those kids. I know their parents and I remember them as little kids but my kids kept me from getting to the venue earlier to catch their performance.

Still, the concert was fantastic. We caught Tenelle’s performance and while she sang a lot of covers, she did rock the hell out of them and had Meghan and I scream singing our asses off to the two songs of hers that I knew. Haha. She was great.

The crowd was jamming hard when Tenelle was on stage but the minute that Sammy J came out, the crowd somehow got bigger and they just erupted. It was complete madness and that guy from New Zealand rocked the hell out of that crowd. It was one of the funnest things that I’ve done in a while.

I didn’t get a lot of videos of the concert cause I was too busy scream singing my way through the show but here are some that I took. Please excuse Meghan’s big ass head in front of me. Haha.


Sammy J singing Waiting (my song!)


Sammy J and Tenelle singing Say That You Love Me (my other song!)

Also? Please excuse the shakiness of the video too. My arms got tired. LMAO! Freaking Meghan wouldn’t get her damn hand and phone out of my way either. Ehh.

Still, all in all the concert was great. I had a good time with Sammy J (haha), with my girls and I only felt a little bad that Brenna and Makenna (who wanted to go to the concert) stayed behind to babysit Hanah’s kids so that Hanah can go.

Here are some pictures from our night out with Sammy J!

Sammy J 1

Sammy J 2

Hanah and I are trying to figure out what our next adventure will be so I’ll update when we figure that out.

So much fun!

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My Top Ten Highlights of 2015

Posted December 31, 2015 by Rowena in Personal | 1 Comment

2015 held its fair share of sad news around the world. With all of the shootings, massacres and just bad shit that went down in Paris, in San Bernardino and in the Middle East, there was a lot to be sad about. But on a more personal level, 2015 was a memorable year for me and my family. There were a lot of highlights that far surpassed the lowlights. 🙂

Screen Shot 2015-11-17 at 8.23.26 PM

1. Winning CIF and getting rings.

We have five champions in the family this year.

It started with Brenna and Cheridan winning their early morning CIF championship game against El Dorado. It was a nail biter, coming down to the last seconds of the game where we came out winners by one point.

Later that same day, Makenna and her Lady Seahawks would go on to defeat their cross town rivals, Mira Costa by hella points. It was a pretty boring game since Redondo came out and just put Costa to work. Meghan was injured so she didn’t play in the game but she cheered her pants off from the bench.

Jenna’s game didn’t come until way later since her softball season is long after basketball but her Torrance Tartars are champs too!

Team RJ 2015

2. Team RJ Shenanigans at Relay for Life.

Team RJ participated in the Torrance Relay for Life again this year for the third year straight (it’s three years, right Ingrid?) and every year, the experience gets more and more special. We did this year’s relay without RJ and Chance for the first year since we started as both RJ and Chance are on their missions but it was still a good turn out and a lot of memories were made for a good cause. Can’t wait for next year!

Colorado 2

3. Spring Break in Colorado.

For Spring Break this year, Brenna and I went to Colorado and spent a week with the Nikos. We wanted to just get away for a little bit and relax. It was a great week filled with hanging with the boys, going up to Crested Butte and watching Arrow. We were there for General Conference weekend so Easter Sunday was spent with Helen, Rob and the boys and with the McLaughlins and like always, the food was plentiful and great! It was nice to get away from the office for the week and just wake up when I want to wake up, do whatever I wanted to do and be free. I need to get away again, do that a couple of times a year.

2015 Wilson Reunion

4. Wilson Family Reunion.

This year kicked off our Wilson family reunion, something we haven’t done since about 1991 or 1992 since Chloe was a baby at the last Wilson family reunion I attended (she’s an old lady now, getting married next year!) but this year’s reunion was so much fun! We had a games day filled with human hungry, hungry hippo and minute to win it games, we met and hung out with long, lost relatives, met new relatives and enjoyed being together as one family. I can’t wait for the next one!

Old Friends

5. Reconnecting with old friends.

People come in and out of your life as the years pass but one of my favorite things to happen this year was reconnecting with a childhood friend that I haven’t talked to regularly in a long ass time. In the upcoming Throwback Thursday posts, you’ll see a lot of pictures from my teenage years and the person that was standing right beside me through most of them was Ms. Hanahlei. Reconnecting with Hanah through Church this year has been a blast and I’m so glad to have her in my life again. My kid loves her kids and her kids are great with my kid and I love that. I love that after all of this time, we can reconnect like no time has passed.

Long Beach Wilsons

6. Henry and Les are expecting Baby #5.

A few months ago, I was having dinner with B Nice at Furusato (one of my go to Korean BBQ places) when I read the news that my brother Henry and Les were expecting again. They have four kids right now, Maleah, Makaela, Brody and Lily and come the end of January, we’ll be welcoming another Wilson grand baby into the fold. I can’t wait!

My favorite conversation about the new baby happened with Lily. I was over the house, making dinner when she came up to me and said, “Aunty, did you know that my baby brother is naked inside my Mommy’s stomach? That’s gross!”

Haha, love that kid!

Luka Joe

7. Lukey started Kindergarten!

I remember when this kid was born. I remember when he was me and Chloe’s favorite kid and we spoiled him rotten. I remember everything about this kid so it blows my mind that Baby No Name Peneueta is now in freaking Kindergarten. He likes school. He has friends, his teacher looks like a vampire (his words, not mine) and he doesn’t even mind waking up in the morning to get ready for school, which is saying something from Mr. Never used to wake up before noon. He’s enjoying his first year in school and even though his penmanship sucks, the kid is smart as hell. Best thing about Luke starting school? Listening to him sing about strippers while he’s doing his homework. LOL!

This song is particular:

SMH, that damn Ken.

Chloe_Markus

8. Chloe got engaged to Markus!

Markus proposed to Chloe!!

Earlier this year, Chloe came to town after a first date that she didn’t even want to go on but couldn’t cancel cause the guy was on his way to her house to pick her up. She sucked it up and went on the date and was surprised at how much fun she had and how cool the guy turned out to be. She had so much fun that the date didn’t end until he took her to the airport the next morning so she can come to California. Haha, Hoey Chloe!

The following month, Markus came to California with Chloe for Relay for Life and to meet the family. A few months of dating and Markus proposed to her in the beginning of November and they’re getting married in 2016. This makes me so happy because Chloe is going to be an amazing wife. Markus is one lucky guy and I’m over the moon that she’s finally over that no good, piece of you know what ex-boyfriend of hers.

Graduates

9. The 99’s graduate from High School and Maleah gets promoted to High School!

Meghan, Seth and Chach are known as the 97’s in our family and they graduated from high school this year! I was fortunate to be able to make it to all three graduations (even Seth’s in Colorado) and spend time with the family celebrating great achievements. Maleah was promoted from middle school to high school this year too. I went to that promotion ceremony too. Busy, busy. Lots of great things in store for these guys.

Since they graduated (or were promoted in Leah’s case), Leah has started high school at North, Chach started college at BYU in Provo, Meghan started at El Camino and Seth entered the work force with plans to turn in his mission papers. See? Lots of great things in store for these guys!

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10. Steroline and Olicity get together!

There’s really nothing left to say about this one since I’ve been walking around like this:

So there you have it, my top ten highlights of the year. How was yours?

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