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Lighting the Fire and Doing the Work

Ray,

October isn’t even over yet, and so much change within me has happened. Let’s start from the beginning shall we? After the emotionalness (Yes, I make up words) that was September, October came way too soon but not soon enough. I wasn’t ready or another month to slip through the cracks. If there was one thing I learned from you it is to live and love life, and I knew that for me October was the time I had to start doing that.

At the end of September, my dad was in the Philippines with his brothers and sisters taking care of my grandpa. The 2 weeks he was gone was terrifying. I felt like my heart was being ripped apart, as if it could be crumbled into any more pieces. My dad came back just in time for his birthday on Oct. 1st and thank God my grandpa was okay. The following weekend was a bittersweet weekend for Charlie and I. We weren’t quite ready to celebrate anything, but we embraced our 1 year wedding anniversary with open arms and went back to the scene of the crime. 🙂 It was just as beautiful as the day we got married. It was the perfect way to get the month started, full of LOVE.

Heritage Park in Dana Point, CA where we had our wedding ceremony
The gorgeous greenery and view at Heritage Park
Steps leading up to our ceremony location
Our ceremony site and the gorgeous view

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after you pass the trees

It was exactly what we needed to recharge our batteries. A couple days of rest along the beautiful coast of California. While Charlie caught some Z’s I spent most of my time on the balcony of our hotel room. The Surf and Sand Resort will forever be one of my all time favorite places to visit. And why wouldn’t it be with this view?!

The gorgeous sunset view from our hotel room.

Amazing right?!

The weekend following, I attended the LA stop of the Making Things Happen tour and made 15 new lifelong friends. I thought I knew what to expect, it was my second time attending the intensive. I was ready to open up, be vulnerable, and get the most out of it. But for some reason, when the event began the shell came back on, and I had to force myself to let go and open my heart. That was the most difficult, yet most rewarding day. Since September, I felt like I was being tumbled and thrown in different directions. My life kept taking completely different turns and I was scared. MTH helped me so much during this very difficult time. It showed me light and how to conquer fear again. It gave me the boost I needed to start getting myself back together and really take a look at the life I was given. It reminded me to live the life you always told us we deserved — a full and happy life full of dreams.

So what did I do? I channeled my pain, my sadness, my grief, and I did what I know you wanted me to do. I turned it into positivity and productivity. That image of the sunset illustrates exactly how I feel right now. I lit the fire within me and began doing the work, the hard work. I’m going to make you proud, Ray. Every day is a struggle, it’s hard, and I miss you every single second of the day. But after my tears fall, I’m ready to take on the world. Just like you.

<3

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I AM EXHAUSTED!

That statement pretty much sums up my week.

I. AM. EXHAUSTED.

The past week has been a whirlwind of work, fun, and craziness. How crazy do you say? Well let’s just say that almost everyone that spent the week with me ended up sick…including me. It all started off with the Friday before Rock the Bells...(fade into flashback sequence)

Friday was quite the busy day for Charlie and I. He had work until 12:30, I had to complete some iPad orders as well as do multiple loads of laundry so I had clothes to chose from for our 5-day Vegas trip. Yes, 5 days. I was crazy to even think I could last in Vegas for 5 days, but more on that a little later. Before I knew it, it was 4:30 and we had to head over to Ninong’s.

It was a big day for our family bakery. We were blessed with the opportunity to be featured in a TV series that featured some of our most popular items, including our Ube Pancakes, Baked Scallop Dirty Dog, and Longanisa Spaghetti..to name a few. This was a huge opportunity for our little bakery and we were not going to pass it up. They were filming the entire night – all while our other company, Traklife Radio, was spinning live in front of the bakery. The people at the Friday Night Food Truck event in Granada Hills really liked the live music, and I hope it helps to grow our listener base. We’ve got a really good show on Wednesdays! A big thank you to all our friends that came to support Traklife AND Ninong’s that night and every night. We truly appreciate your support in our endeavors. Here’s DJ MikeRawk on spinning live in front of the shop. Check out all that film equipment behind him!

Charlie and I also had a cake order to complete that was due on Saturday. Since we were beyond busy, we had to complete it on Saturday morning. Thank God we made it in time! And I think it turned out beautifully. What do you think?

Sunday was our first night in Vegas. We got to meet up with some Vegas friends and so the Vegas madness began…the rest of the Assemble team got in at around 3 am. They came home to an upgraded 2 bedroom suite at the Elara, formerly known as the Planet Hollywood West Gate Towers. Monday started off at the Capsule show at the Venetian. Then party, party, party. Tuesday started our first Magic Tradeshow experience. Party, Party, Party. Wednesday was our last day to cover Magic. Finished off with a dinner at Wicked Spoon at the Cosmo hotel and party, party, party with the remaining of the team. Thursday, we hung out with a good friend, ate some great food, and flew home. The damage you ask? A group of 10 drank 6 bottles of Hennessy, 2 bottles of Ciroc, 1 bottle of Coffee Tequila, and 1 bottle of Tequila Rose. Not to mention the drinks we bought at the bars and clubs. I think we were all running on 3 hours (or less) of sleep each. So needless to say, it was quite the party weekend. (Excuse the horrid iPhone photos)

 We landed and came home on Thursday night, Charlie had work the following morning at 7 am and I got up at 6:30. So much work to catch up on. Our look book was supposed to be complete by last Wednesday. As you can see from the paragraph above, that didn’t happen. 😛 After Charlie got home from work, we reported back to Ninong’s, cooked some Ube Funnel Cake, Ube Pancakes, and made smoothies all weekend. AND, to top it all off it was Charlie’s birthday on Saturday. So we had some of our friends and family come by for a BBQ at our house. All before I got sick on Sunday. I think my body is begging for some rest and relaxation, which is what I plan to do for the rest of the week.

To be honest, August has been one of the most grueling months. I haven’t been this tired since our wedding. But has it been worth it? HELL YES. I wouldn’t trade any of these experience for the world. It’s a step toward improvement, toward growth, toward success and I say it’s worth it. I know it may be hard, I know it might ask for everything I can give (and then some), I know that I’m entering uncharted territory, but it’s okay. I’m excited, I’m enthusiastic, I’m optimistic, and I’m grateful.

So let’s cheers to Monday (not with alcohol, with tea lol), that this week will be even better than the last. And that’s pretty tough to top!

 

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