mini-moon!

In our nearly seven years together, Erik and I have ticked off many of our dream vacations: Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Dominican Republic, Italy, France, Japan, and Thailand. E's also traveled extensively through Mexico and Europe, while I've covered China, Taiwan, and Central America. So, choosing our honeymoon has been no small feat. We're saving our epic adventure for the spring, but, in the meantime, we settled on Jamaica for a beach-bum mini-moon. I've only been once, and it'll be Erik's first time! And, for basically the first time ever, we actually sprung for an ocean-front villa. Super stoked.

happy.

The other day I bumped into an acquaintance I hadn't seen in awhile. "How are you?" she squealed. Without missing a beat, I responded, "Really good. Happy!" After we parted ways, I realized that I truly meant what I said. I've always been a glass-half-full kinda person, but when I was younger, there was a little nagging voice of more, more, more. I don't think I even realized it at the time, but I was never 100% satisfied with the present. In the back of my head, I'd think: I should be making more money, landing more plum assignments, doing more exciting things, etc. Somewhere in my 30's, I finally shook this mentality. (Well, mostly, still have lapses now and again.) Who knows what the future will hold, but it's so nice, being in this peaceful space right now. There's no place I'd rather be!

6 things...

...I'm loving lately:

1. The Rockaways. It's such a small community...so many fun friends!
2. This Indonesian restaurant near our apartment. It's a 5-minute walk, super delicious, and not too crowded. Yum.
3. Funny little Brooklyn moments. The other day, we made friends with another engaged half-Chinese couple at the taco truck and wound up hugging and high-fiving.
4. '60s and '70s Chinese songs. Mom and I have been listening to them in our Facetime sessions to find the right one to dance to at the wedding. Her vote is this one.
5. Nutty buddies. I've been eating an ice cream cone and a wedge of watermelon a day. My summertime staples.
6. My best friend. Super excited to marry this guy.

my life lately...

...has been all about wedding, surfing, working, and running. Yup, I'm pretty much going to sound like a broken record this summer. To that end, thought I'd do a little check-in on each aspect of my life:

Wedding: Getting soooo stoked! The other day Erik admitted to me that he was getting excited for it, too...huzzah, success. :) My favorite part of planning is that our wedding truly a collaboration between the two of us: There's going to be a boombox DJ and drumming (him), photobooth and bright colors (her), and Chino-Latino grub (them). Plus all of our favorite peeps!

Surfing: Meet my new board (above). The super rad guys at Breakwater sold me their demo board for a great bargain, and I'm smitten. She's a 6-ish Greenlight Subway Series. A little harder to paddle into waves, but she's very wide so I'm stable once I'm up. Plus, it's so much easier to turn, not to mention carry on the subway.

Working: Oh, man, keeping busy. I've worked non-stop around-the-clock these past few months. (Can't remember the last weekend I didn't have to write.) But, I can't complain. I'm really enjoying everything I'm doing, and it's nice to frontload since I know I'll be hectic in the fall.

Running: The only thorn in my side. This heat is brutal. I've kept up with my long runs, but swapped out some of the midweek runs for swims and surfs. Oh, well...I'm not trying to win this thing. Just want to finish. :)

wedding update!

It's no secret that Erik and I thought long and hard about whether to even have a wedding in the first place. In fact, everything pointed towards us eloping: We don't have family pressure. We're untraditional. We're frugal. We don't have the time to plan out a big event. But, after a lot of debate and tossing around scenarios, we decided to go forward with the wedding route (with some apprehension, I'll admit). And I have to say: It feels like the right decision. As I grow older and life gets even faster and busier, it's been tricky to meet up with many of my friends, who live far away and have kids, mortgages, etc. It's meant so much to me to feel their love and plan out a reunion. I don't think I'll ever truly care about all the little details (uhhhh, what favors? color scheme who?), but this...THIS...is what's important to me. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

surf musings

When I was surfing with my buddy the other day, we decided to try to catch the save wave so he could take a picture of the two of us on his Go-Pro. "This one?" I asked, eyeing a growing bump in the sea. "No," he replied. "Not scary enough!" The perfect wave, he explained, needs to strike a little twinge of fear in your heart. "This one!" he shouted. As the large swell came towards me, I hesitated a second (eek!); enough to pace me behind the curl and cause me to purl. "What happened?" said Michael, after padding back out. "Aw, man, I blew it," I laughed. As cheesy as it sounds, I've been thinking a lot about this scene as an analogy for life. Hear me out: Most of truly important things in life involve risks, and that's terrifying. But you've got to just go for it, or the wave will just pass you by. And you have to commit, without hedging or waffling. More often than not, you'll get a sweet ride. Once in a while, you'll nosedive, get washing-machined around, and maybe break something. But at least you'll know that you tried!

Pic: My first busted board at Rockaway! I feel like it's a rite of passage. Photo by Vanessa. :)

one happy thing

Today I interviewed an author I admire, who was every bit as amazing as I hoped her to be. I asked her if she had any daily rituals, and her answer was contributing to a "Happiness Jar." Every day she writes down the best moment of her day -- even if it's going to bed -- and slips it into the jar. In many ways, that's similar to the goal of this blog; this bit of bandwith is meant to remind myself of all the lovely little things in life. I'm goal-oriented and a bit competitive by nature, so it's one of my biggest challenges! In honor of the Happiness Jar, I thought I'd make this post about today's joyful moments. Although I pretty much slogged at my computer all day, I have to say my favorite times were connecting with my family. I snapped this pic during a Facetime session with my mom; isn't it the cutest? I also texted with my brother, who is on a camping trip in Utah. And then Erik and I worked together this morning before he headed to the office, and of course he simultaneously distracted me and cracked me up while I was trying to meet a deadline. That's my little family. We might not be the closest clan, or the most functional, but as long as I have them, everything is going to be all right.