Headed Back to the Land of Thai

Well in about 24 hours we're headed back to Bangkok! We'll be gone for one week and are going for his brother's wedding which is next Sunday the 18th. I'm actually kinda looking forward to this trip because the last two were for unfortunate reasons and they were just very emotionally draining.

Anyway, it's our first trip as an engaged couple.. aawwwww. I know, I know... *gag*

♥
brandi

A new day, a new month, a new... relationship status?

Ok I'll get right to the point WE'RE ENGAGED (as most of you know by now)!

Eight years on and it finally happened! We had of course been talking about getting engaged off and on over the years. We always knew we'd eventually get married, it was just a matter of starting the process and making it official, and now seemed like the 'right' time. We just wanted to make sure we were the one for each other! :D

So we went shopping for our rings last weekend in Hollywood at a shopping center called Hollywood & Highland. We had kinda looked in this store called Teno before and both remembered that we really liked their jewelry. It's a German company and everything in there is stainless steel and has a really modern and unique feel to it. We 'bought them out' so to speak, and ended up getting both my ring and band, and his band as well. No, this isn't your traditional engagement ring, but hey, when have we ever been traditional? hehe.. I love it. :)

I didn't get to wear the ring right away though, because Burin wanted to have a proper proposal and had in his mind how he wanted to do it. He happened to be off work yesterday (May 1), so we went to Seal Beach yesterday morning and luckily there was nobody really around (or we would have had to find someplace else because we all know how modest I am and don't like to cause a scene!). So he quickly got down on his knee in the sand by the water with the seagulls as our witnesses and asked. And that's when I said those three little words:

"It's about time." :)

Afterwards we went to have brunch at a restaurant that was right there on the water, and then went on about our day. And that was it.

We'll more than likely have the wedding in MS because we all know Doris ain't gonna get on a plane and come out here :P .. and we're thinking around August/September? I'll keep everyone posted with the details as I know them!

So, back to reality, everything has been great out here in CA! We're loving it. The gas prices, not so much. Tenneille rode out here with me when I moved in mid-March, and we had a blast the two days she was able to spend out here. We did a touristy Hollywood tour on one day and went to a taping of Deal or No Deal the next day. That particular episode (Star Wars-themed) actually aired this past Monday night and we were able to see ourselves a few times in the audience! Other than that, Burin and I mostly hang around here, though we have ventured out a time or two and rode along the Pacific Coast Highway, which in some areas has amazing views of the Pacific from a cliff. One of my favorite things to do is go to Hollywood and ride along Hollywood Blvd. or especially the Sunset Strip, look at the neat shops and restaurants, and watch for celebrities! LOL.. haven't had any sightings yet though, unfortunately (except for the time that Forrest Whitaker was on the same plane as I was coming from Memphis to LA). Maybe one day....

♥

brandi

What now.

Well in my last post I guess I failed to mention that I was finally back at home for a little while! It was SO nice to not have to do a thing for an entire week.

On Wednesday though, I will be flying with my cat (as a carry-on, lord help me) out to California to get him settled in, and I will be back here in MS next Tuesday night (the 11th). Then, if the plans don't change, Tenneille and I will be leaving out next Friday afternoon with the Pilot packed up with as much stuff as possible and driving out to California and hopefully we'll arrive that Sunday afternoon. Tenneille will be flying back on Wednesday morning, and I will be staying out there! I'm sure it won't be too long after that that I'll be back for a visit. ;) Burin might even come back - he hasn't been here since early December! Starting in April he should be working seven days on and seven days off, so maybe we'll come back for a week and take care of some stuff around the house.

Off to clean and pack some stuff!

♥

Where in the world am I. And what am I doing.

Funerals and weddings. Miss Universe and Pamela Anderson.


Wow, ok, so.. the past few weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least. Back on the 2nd of this month (a Saturday) I flew out to CA for what was to be about a week in order to look for a house. We found the ideal rental house that Sunday and signed a one-year lease on it that Wednesday! Here are the specs: it's in Signal Hill, a really nice community/city which is completely surrounded by Long Beach. It's a brand new two-story home with 3 bedrooms + a loft and 2.5 baths. As the name implies, it is on a 'hill,' and we are able to see out into the valley. The coolest part? On a clear day, from the loft window, you can see downtown L.A. and the Hollywood sign about 25-30 miles off in the distance! There is also direct access to one of the many parks in Signal Hill in the neighborhood so that is pretty cool too!




I was supposed to have been coming home that Friday night, but as many of you know, Burin's mother had been pretty sick and he had gotten a call that she was going downhill pretty quickly, so we both left on that Thursday and headed for Bangkok. Unfortunately she passed away just a couple of hours before we landed in Bangkok. So the next seven days were spent attending funeral services. In a nutshell, Thai funerals consist of having visitation at a temple for about six days, and a cremation service on the seventh day. Needless to say, it was very different from an American funeral.


For the next two days (Saturday and Sunday) I was sick in bed with food poisoning from a single slice of pizza, of all things. Not from some tainted street vendor food. (The pizza is what I had it narrowed down to anyway.) And I ate it out of courtesy! haha.. I wasn't too hungry but they had ordered pizza one night and had it delivered to the house, so everyone was like "Brandi, pizza! Brandi, pizza!!" So I ate a piece. And got sick. For two days. Although it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, thank goodness.

That Monday I was feeling better and was able to go shopping. See, Sean's wedding was Saturday and I was originally planning to come back home from CA and go shopping for something to wear to it, but since the plans changed and I was in Bangkok and was going to be flying directly to Virginia for the wedding, I had nothing to wear and had to go shopping so that I could take it with me! Luckily, I found a suit from the first department store I went to.

Burin, his sister, and I went to the famous floating market outside Bangkok on Wednesday morning. On our way there, his sister stopped at a gas station to use the restroom and came back to the car and said she saw Miss Universe in there! Haha.. she had also come out at about the same time and got into a Mercedes. It was Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova (of Canada). She has received a lot of press in Thailand because the pageant was held in Bangkok that year, and she is also married to Thai pro-tennis player Paradorn Srichaphan. So it seems that everyone there knows her. I totally did my research here because I don't keep up with stuff like that, and I know I never would have known who she was if I would have peed next to her. All these pageant people look the same to me!

So we went on to the floating market, which is something I had been wanting to do for a while. Basically it's where vendors sell their stuff (souvenirs, fruits, etc) from boats or from along the sides of the waterways and canals, and you as a tourist can rent a boat and shop from right there in the boat! It also makes for some really cool and very popular photographs. And guess who we ran into while there.. yea, Miss Universe. She was taking pictures as Burin and I were acting crazy so we might just be on her camera.



This sweet little old lady on the right is 78 years old and sells coconut juice from her boat. That's Burin's sister in the middle.



On Thursday afternoon, we left Bangkok to head back to CA. Sitting next to us on the plane was um.. I'll just say a "she-man." I glanced at his/her boarding ticket, and yes, his/her name was Pamela Anderson. Didn't look a thing like her.

So we made it back to CA on Thursday afternoon and we went to pick up the key to the house and made a run to Target to pick up a couple of things. My flight to VA for Sean and Dana's wedding was early the next morning and I had two (yes, two) layovers, one in Phoenix and one in DC. I finally made it, but my luggage didn't. You can imagine how worried I was that I'd be wearing my airplane clothes to the wedding the next day! Fortunately, it made it on a flight that next morning so I was able to get dressed. The wedding was in the mountains and it was very nice, small, and simple. Kinda chilly too, about 40 degrees, but we didn't have to be outside for very long. Here's the happy couple, who are now honeymooning in Ireland. *sigh*



♥brandi

Once Upon a Time...

...I was tagged by Valerie to post seven random facts about myself. Um.. here goes:

1. I love cheese.
2. I have collections of the following items: ACEOs, stamps, postcards, coins, and those pennies that you get pressed into an oval that imprints an image or something from the touristy place that you are at. (All these things are from around the world)
3. I love to travel and have been to Europe and Asia. My goal is to visit each continent. :)
4. I broke my ankle playing tennis about six years ago.
5. Growing up I never had any pets. Or a swingset.
6. I have a cat named Moby now. Still no swingset.
7. I've never had a cavity.
And a bonus: I've been in the same dang relationship for eight years! (not married, not engaged... *sigh*)
And a shameless promo: I have an Etsy store in which I sell bottlecap magnets that I make because I get bored! www.moxiecreations.etsy.com!

I would tag people if I had anybody to tag!

Meet Claire.

With all this 'free time' that I have lately, I've been trying to do productive things and have been trying to get into artwork more. I'm really fascinated by a genre of art called ACEOs, which stands for Art Cards, Editions, and Originals. The only "rule" is that this artwork be 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, the size of a standard playing card (and many people actually do use a playing card as their canvas). Any medium can be used - paper, paint, wood, metal, fabric, anything, and they can also be originals, prints of originals, or photos.

This is actually the second ACEO I have done (the first one was blah). I used textured cardstock, a rubber stamp, ink, a flower sequin, and Swarovski crystals. The image of the girl is from an ad in a magazine I have from 1969 (I love the ads from that era!) - I did *not* draw her! .. I'm not that good. :)

So what do you do with these things? A lot of people collect them. I'm just starting my own collection, and you can buy baseball card binder inserts and keep them all in a binder. Or, there are picture frames this size that you can use to display them individually or in groups. You can also make a collage out of several of them and have it framed that way (which looks really cool).

Class dismissed.

:)

♥brandi

Another day, another year..

Seems odd that Burin was supposed to have started his new job in Long Beach today. :( Another month, I guess.

Some of my resolutions:
*Recycle more and generally be more environmentally friendly/conscious
*Read more (books, magazines, news)
*Do more art/learn new techniques
*Do/learn more about photography
*Learn another language (um, Thai)
*Live a more simple, clean, and clutter-free life

Happy new year, all.

♥brandi