A Sort of Homecoming

G and I are back on island and were welcomed at the airport with some familiar faces!   It feels great to be back home!

True Island Baby

Sweet Max. I just want to squeeze this little guy every time I see him. My good friends, Mike and Gemma, from Guam came to visit me in Saipan.  We took them on a classic island tour.  Max really loved the Bonzai Cliff view.

You know you are a true island baby when you've got a zorrie tan!=)

Happiness is

. . . Flame Tree season in Saipan. I love the brilliant orange hues.























. . . Seeing White Tip Reef Sharks when you dive at Obyan Beach!

















. . . my Sunday morning bike rides from Hyatt to Suicide Cliff with Crystal and Lorrie.














. . . standing on Mark and Tammy's terrace that overlooks their beautiful pool and Lau Lau Bay. Can you imagine coming home after working and having this view to look at everyday!?


















. . . friends who inspire me in so many ways.





















. . . hearing the kids have a big belly laugh at our drama skits. Real Christian is getting ready to perform at the schools in Palau.












. . . Sabbath and picnics at Pau Pau Beach.

Twenty Something!

Crystal makes a wish before she blows out her candles! I wondered what she wished for! We celebrated Crystal's twenty something birthday this past Saturday night! Close friends were invited for a night of yummy appetizer dishes and fellowship.

Our dive buddies, Dixie and Eric Fly, are visiting from Guam for a long weekend. We went diving together along with Harry, Greg, and Atsuko on the Aqua Jet to Tinian on Sunday . . .more posts on that later!

Mai and Barbara sampling the many appetizer dishes!

I baked the breaded monzerella cheese sticks just like the ones at the TGIF restaurant in Guam! Tammy made a tasty Bruchetta, and Dr. Reedstrom's wife, May, made a really spicy tofu appetizer! Everyone's mouth was on fire.

How can anyone not love Mark James' baby face!

This years student missionary teachers at SDA School: Vero, Amy, Rikki, and Jessica. They'll be starting scuba diving lessons soon!

I have really enjoyed working and getting to know Crystal in the past year. She inspires me to grow in so many ways. Not only spiritually but also professionally as well. She's more than just my boss . . . she's my dive buddy, spa buddy, tank swim buddy, golf buddy, scrapbooking buddy, prayer buddy . . . my sister in Christ. I'm just so blessed to have her in my life.

If you wondered how SDA's party . . . this is it! lol We just have a great time being with each other.

The Veterans enjoying another year in Saipan together.

Happy Birthday Crystal and many more to come!

Happy Birthday Aunt Judy!

Can you think of a friend that just consistently brightens your day every time you see him or her?! Well you're looking at the person that makes me smile and laugh everytime I'm with her. You would never be able to guess her age because she's so young at heart. We celebrated her birthday by having an intimate dinner with close friends at Mark and Tammy James' home.

Aunt Judy and Uncle Dennis are my favorite dive buddies hands down. They certified me with both my open water and advanced underwater training. I was suppose to go on a scuba diving trip with them to Yap but I spent all my money on my Palau trip this past March =( We're still planning a scuba trip to the Philippines and I'm looking for a dive buddy to go with! Maybe we'll go to Palawan? I went there two years ago and it is beautiful over there.

I love Mark and Tammy! They are the funniest people to be with above and below water! There's no doubt you'll always find all of us scuba diving together on a Sunday morning. I won't start telling stories about them because I know they'll tell their "stories" about me too. So like Vegas . . . whatever happens underwater stays underwater.

A picture of the Piersons. Not only picture perfect but a match made in heaven. Seriously!

For dinner we had pasta, salad, and garlic bread. Crystal made a yummy pesto dish from scratch! Tammy baked a toasted coconut supreme cake for the birthday girl.

You can't see the view beyond Mark and Tammy's pool because it is dark but there is a breathtaking view of Lau Lau Bay. The pool looks warm and inviting right?! It was raining that night but I still wanted to check how warm the water was in the pool. So i'm standing on the edge of the pool and I gingerly dip my right foot into the pool. As I am dipping my right foot in the pool I feel my left foot start to slip and in I go! Dag nab it! Mark's tiles are slippery=( I fell in the pool with my clothes on but it didn't matter anyway since I had my swimsuit under my clothes. I gave everyone a good chuckle. Aunt Judy was so cool that she jumped in the pool with me and the rest followed! What a great night. So lucky to have such great friends out here in Saipan.

Weekend Island Tour

Its always exciting to see a new face on island. Roy Kim MD was doing some medical relief work at the Guam SDA Medical Clinic and decided to visit Saipan for a weekend. I think its safe to say that he loved Saipan more than Guam or Rota after this weekend.

Our weekend started off with a dive on late Friday afternoon at the Grotto. It's been really hot lately so I was dreading climbing up and down the 100 grotto stairs with my wet suit and dive gear on. So this time I opted to dive without a wet suit and I loved it! I just felt so light and unrestricted. Think I'm lazy about the 100 steps? You climb 'em!



Roy won't admit what number this dive was for him since he had just gotten his open water certification in Guam this past month. I'm thinking this was his third or fourth dive but he did really well for an advanced dive site! The sun was starting to set so we didn't get to see the light shine as vibrantly through the three exit holes like usually. Visability was poor but atleast we saw one white tip shark and an eel.


On Saturday, we went to church together. Any missionary who visits our church we ask to do something during church service on a last minute notice. Thats just the way it goes. Pastor asked Roy to tell the children's story and he so graciously accepted. He did a great job.



Ken took Crystal, Rosana, Roy and I on an island tour. We hit a bunch of hot spots that I had never been to like Tank Beach, Marine Beach, and the caves off the road going towards Lau Lau Beach. My favorite spot of the day was Forbidden Island lookout. We were planning to hike Forbidden on Saturday but it rained all day.




We would have went on another dive on Sunday but Roy was flying back to Guam already in transit to dive in Palau. Lucky guy. I want to go back to Palau!
Photo Credit: The Pierson's and Rosana.

Dinner At My Place

I have to admit that the place I am staying at the moment isn't all that charming, warm, or inviting. The walls are concrete and there are only two small windows placed at opposite ends of the apartment. I feel like I'm living in a shoe box and that is why I never have guests over! I'm never really home anyway except when I need to sleep. Ask my Korean neighbors. In a blink of an eye I am usually in and out and they usually laugh about it!

Anyway, I'll be moving at the end of July and I can't wait. Instead of a view of another ghetto apartment complex across the way, I will have a view of Beach Road and the ocean! I'm excited. Thanks to everyone for their recommendations but I'm really happy with this apartment that I found.



I hosted a dinner party at my apartment but my Korean neighbor, Lizzy, cooked our spicy Korean meal! Her home cooked meal was glorious! mMMMm Lizzy and her husband Dewy wanted to officially welcome Rosana to Saipan. I think Liz and Dewy exemplify the perfect neighbor. They have always been so kind and gracious to me. They're always checking up on me and every now and then they bring me delicious home cooked meals for dinner. I'm just really lucky to be their friends. They'll be moving back to Korea in August though. Among the guest list were the Crystal and Ken.

During our conversation Ken was demonstarting his ability to talk in different accents. He grew up in South Africa so he was talking mostly in a South African accent. We were all dying of laughter! Tonight's dinner and company was divine.

Snorkeling at Managaha Island

I heart Managaha Island.
Ken and Crystal getting ready to go snorkeling. They saw an eagle ray near the reef!
Majestic Blue water
Lazy Sunday. Thinking about having to pack all of my junk to move to my new apt.
Lorene and Rosana enjoying the 83 degree water.


Just a ferry boat ride away is Managaha Island. I need to come here more often for some R & R. Its nice to just relax, catch up on a book, and enjoy the view. Best of all its a free ride for the locals.

We gave diving a rest this past Sunday and decided to go snorkeling instead for the morning. The Piersons, Lorene, and I took Rosana for the first time to Managaha Island. She loved it and couldn't get enough of the underwater world.

There were alot of Japanese tourists in the water with life jackets on. It was a peaceful morning until some of them were splashing and screaming when they would see the fish underwater. Rosana threw some vienna sausages their way and more fish came! lol I had to swim out farther to get away from all the comotion.

I love Sundays.

Catch 30

I had a blast celebrating my 30th birthday this past weekend! My weekend couldn't have started off any better than teeing off a charity golf tournament with my friend, Jessica. I've missed playing golf. I'm bringing my golf clubs back with me to Saipan since I will be staying another year. Plus my short game needs some serious work.
30 Flirty and Fabulous as my friends would say! I am at a very happy place in my life right now. In fact, I feel like I am on cloud nine. I feel blessed because I have so many wonderful people in my life here at home and in Saipan. So many people have made my day special with phone calls, emails, and cards.

My cousin, Janice, brought me my favorite cup cakes from a bakery called Sprinkles. in Newport Beach. My sweet friend, Angie, made me breakfast in bed. My best friend since the second grade, Rae, came out to La Jolla to have dinner with us even though alot of things are going on with her dad right now. And my cousin, Joy, made me laugh so hard that I cried! It was just perfect night.
I have to admit that I am not much of a partyer. Any normal person would have probably celebrated their birthday at a club or a bar. I'm pretty low key and more of a homebody. All I really wanted to do was get dressed and have dinner at a really nice restaurant with some of my closest friends. We had dinner at a Hawaiian Fusion restaurant called Roy's in La Jolla. Ever heard of it? I loved it and thought the food was amazing.

Remember how I said I'd do things differently in my 20's? Well I change my mind. If I didn't make those mistakes than I probably wouldn't be where I am at today and I wouldn't be who I am. What I learned from my 20's is to lighten up and not take life so seriously. Also I have learned to keep loving extravagantly like God calls us to. Thanks everyone for your bday wishes=)