1. Icing on the Cupcake – My favorite cupcakes now-a-days! If you are local to the area (greater Sacramento area that is) you must try these! Heavenlyyyyyy!!! Their Red velvet cupcakes are my favorites so far, and I don’t even like red velvet cake. Go figure! I suggested a friend of mine to have these on his wife’s surprise birthday party. He went to the store and texted me immediately after trying out the samples. I was on my way back from work, but I had to take a detour and stop by the cup cake store to pick up a couple! Yummmmm!!!

2. The Presidio of San Francisco – I heart SF! One of my favorite cities in the world! There wasn’t a time when I did not enjoy my time there. A weekend ago J and I drove over to Baker beach for Nicole and JP’s engagement session. We drove around the presidio on our way back. Once we entered the park, we had to stop the car and take a picture of this beautiful site! Clouds were moving over, covering the tress! It was like a dream! I could sit there for hours (until I freeze probably) and watch the clouds moving.

3. California State Fair – we were the first timers to the Cal State Fair this year. That only happened because I ended up buying a poppy pack (4 entry tickets, 4 ride tickets, 1 parking pass) that were being sold at work for dimes. So we went to the fair this year with two other friends of us. The brick of potato chips, deep fried cheesecake and a crazy ride made me sick (well almost) but it was fun! I might consider going there again next year.

I’m excited about Ann & Josh’s wedding next weekend. And then I will be traveling to the south for work and photoshoots! It’s going to be a super-busy-next-few-weeks, but that’s a good thing right?

Sitting at the breakfast counter this morning, I came up with a new topic for blog. It’s about random little things that give me instant happiness. I thought it would be fun to share with ya’ll. I was trying to find the “perfect” title for this series of posts. While perfection is hard to achieve, I think “ten seconds of happiness” reflects the state of my mind when I’m experiencing/observing/tasting those random little things. I bet we all feel this way at times. Don’t we? With that begins the new category of posts, “Ten Seconds of Happiness”.

This week’s mention goes to -

1. My new Blowfish Shoes – I found these cute shoes during my recent visit to Macy’s at the Roseville Galleria Mall. Although I wasn’t planning on purchasing anything, after 65% off, $10 final price and learning how comfy they were, I couldn’t resist bringing those cuties home! It was a killer deal and I was so happy to have them! What can I say, every girl loves a cute pair of shoes and so do I!

2. Grilled peaches with brown sugar and cream cheese – Heavenly goodness! If you are on my facebook and/or following me on twitter, you know that we have a peach tree in our backyard. This was the first season when we had tree full of peaches. Unfortunately, we were lucky enough to consume only a few of those. Silly birds ate most of them! My hubby picked a few from the tree and prepared this delicious dessert with grilled peaches. He got the recipe from All recipies and improvised a little bit! It was mouthwatering! If you love peaches and want to try out something new, try this recipe.

3. Low carb, high fibre wheat tortillas – I got them at costco. A friend of mine recommended them. On the first day I thought that they taste like cardboard soaked in water (they really do!). The second day (today) I tried them with vegetable curry and I thought they weren’t too bad! With a name like “low carb, high fibre tortilla” I couldn’t expect any more than that. Overall I was happy with how they tasted.

What made you happy this week? Feel free to share the random bliss …

Here’s an image of beautiful little Lili who is now all big and entering the terrible two’s! I adore her and she has been a source of happiness for the past two years …

I have mourned the day ever since (including the before and after). It was hard for me to lose the “man” in my life. A part of me was so numb, I didn’t even realize that. I didn’t celebrate 4th of July during my early years in the United States; I used to corner myself into a room, keep away from the crowd. It wasn’t until I met the man I have today, my husband, when that numbness started to go away. I started getting into the crowd, celebrating the birth of the USA. I live here today, I live the life that my father could only dream about. As I look at the fireworks every year and dance with the music, I remember my dad. I don’t have him today, but I will always remain his little girl. He will always be the special man in my life.

I miss him so much.

I looked at myself on the mirror and realized that my excuses to deny the race weren’t good enough. I had to pull myself out of bed at 4:30 in the morning on a Saturday to make it to Cal Expo for the race. It was undoubtedly an amazing experience. Over twenty four thousand supporters, runners, walkers were there for a Cause. Many were running in the memory of their loved ones, many were survivors of cancer, there must have been a few who made this a new year resolution, just like me. I heard a story of a young mom of an 18-month old who couldn’t fight the cancer and died at the age of 31. I thought instantly, “I’m on the edge of 31 and I’m still healthy and alive”! I was grateful one more time. The experiences were greater than anything else, they gave a new meaning to this transient life. I think everyday we learn a little more about life, and that day I learned to see the life from a better angle. Even though, I stopped training months ago and I was totally out of shape, every step I took after the 2 mile stretch seemed like the last step of my life, I looked around and absorbed the positive energy around me and made another step towards the finish line.

I am thankful to four beautiful ladies who motivated me, supported me and were there with me from the beginning till the end of this race. Ladies, you know who you are and if you are reading this I’m saying out loud again that I couldn’t have done it without you. So THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I’m hoping to keep this up and make it to the next finish line with you.

Here’s a shot of us before the race, courtesy of Jeff Matulich.

I have been busy lately (which is good, by the way). Between weddings, concerts and other social and outdoor activities, I hardly slept in last couple months. My hubby and I went to see John Mayer and Bon Jovi a month ago. Bon Jovi brought my memories back from the 90s. I’m so crazy about John Mayer that I might go see him again this summer in Woodland, CA. Tomorrow I’m going to see Conan AKA Coco at the Sacramento Convention Center. I’m soo excited!!! But the bad part is I may just have to listen to him since the last minute seats are no good and might not have 100% stage view. Blah! I’m going anyway.

Here’s a picture from our recent hike to the inspiration point at the north of San Franciso. This is a city that never gets old. The view of it from the hill-top was amazing. The sun was setting on one side and the night lights were just turning on the other side of the Richmon Bridge. It sure was inspirational, it was a great way to spend the weekend.

I will write more about my first WPPI experience in future posts. Right now I want to relax and leave you with an image of a beautiful sunrise over the river Nile. This was taken from our cruise boat, right before our visit to Edfu Temple.

Sometimes I wonder how much do we really need in life to be happy! A day of rain, a bit of sunshine and a rainbow could be a good enough reason to smile that day and may be the newly bloomed spring flower the next day! These are the things that I believe bring excitment to our everyday life and remind us to be thankful for all that we have. No matter how simple they are, they make us happy, instantly!