Most of my girl friends are married and busy with their husbands and children, and some are in serious relationships who dont want to be bothered.. Therefore I dont have that many girls to hang out with. Anyhow, I’m so blessed to have many guy friends who I have so much fun hanging out with and most of them would always be there for me when I need them, even that some guys think of me as another guy friend of them .

    I have Duy to look after me like a brother. I have Khanh to dance and have coffee with. I have Vinny who has always been by side for more than 10 years. I have Jack who always thinks of me and calls me on holidays. I have Ninh to give me ideas and knowledges and help me with moving heavy stuffs/ cleaning. I have Thierry to take me out on boats and to be an expert about buying cars. I have Vick to take me out to drink and movies. I have Vince to be my buddy who treats me like a guy. I have Rich to talk and listen to my problems. I have Daniel, my cousin who is willing to beat up any guy  messes with me. I have Soan to think that I have the most beautiful smile and the cutest gigles.Well, I almost forget to mention that I have the Chaus brothers ( 6 of them including Soan,Thierry and Ninh) to cook for and who are willing to eat and appreciate my I cooking. I feel so special to have such friends like you. Having you all makes me not wanting a boyfriend for myself unless you all could be combined in one I guess not…

   Many people look for ways to improve/ change their looks. Some people’d refer to have tremendous changes, therefore they go with plastic surgeries. While others ‘d refer to go with some safer methods without dealing with pain or recovery time. To my surprise, I find out there’s actually a new technique to improve your facial appearance without surgery.  I’ve never heard of this procedure before and I believe it is still very new to lots of people. Here you go, Hoang or Mandy… if you dont like your “mat map”, I hope this can help you both.hahahaha… And also Mandy, tell Thierry about the crooked nose.

   Well, I will go try it on myself since Hoangster says my face is too round.

Face Taping is  process developed to dramatically improve facial appearance in a minimum amount of time.

   They wash the face and have the person lay down on his/her back, causing the face to fall into more youthful lines. As a point of interest, aging actresses  often have their photos taken while laying flat on something, because they look younger. So, you lay them down so the face falls into the best possible position, face up. Then they take Micropore tape, a tape with many little holes  in it, and we lift any sagging tissue off the jaw line, and push it up into the cheek area, which is where it’s fallen from.  They put a piece of tape from the corner of the nose, under this tissue they’ve pulled up, and they tape it up  to the top of the ear. They do the same on both sides. Then they take the Micropore tape and lift the eyebrows which tightens the skin above the eyes.

 They pull tissue up where it belongs and tape it and keep it in the correct position. If  the nose is crooked, you’ve got to take that crooked nose and tape it. Let’s say it’s leaning to the left, then you’ve got tape it over to the right in an exaggerated fashion in order for it to end up even. You’ve got to pull the  skin off the jowls and put it up on the cheekbone, put it where you want it, and then wrap it to compact it in that position.

  The most common  conditions are handled by this procedure are Wrinkles, double chins, puffy eyes, sagging jowls, loose skin above eyes, crows feet and lines around the mouth.

Keep in mind that lots of celebrities most of whom  wish to remain anonymous have had this done. And the change is visible, photographable, measurable.

   I had a great weekend.  Friday, I got to see “50 first dates” which i thought very cute movie. I went clubbing with Mandy and her friends after the movie. Gosh, I felt so old around them. Maybe my clubbing age is so over.

   Saturday… again I went to another wedding. People got married here and there.

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   My heart beated very fast. I saw him today. His smile melted me and warmed my heart. After that short moment I got into the car and my whole body was shaked which I had no control of. I tried so much to get over him, and for once I thought I did. Now I dont think that I’ve ever been over him.

   3 more days til Valentine’s day… It’s gonna be just like any other days for me. No one to celebrate it with. Everyone in my house that day are coupled. My Dad and Mom, Mandy and Hoang, even my dog Lewis is with his partner, Lily .This is the second Valentine’s without him.  Luckily, I get to work that day, otherwise I’d probably sleep through the whole day.

  On the other hand, Valentine’s day has some special meaning for me. It’s the 2nd aniversary for my business. Wow, it’s been 2 years already since I took over. How fast… 2 years with lots of work, lots of stress, but I’ve gained lots of knowledge. Being in this business takes me away from school but I dont regret. There’s always time for me to be back in school, and that time will come soon. Yeah baby, I am going back to school in May (even just part time). Yay for me…

This is me at work.

  I dyed my hair REAL black. And I know that Mandy is gonna copy me. hahaha. This guy at Van Michael hair salon dyed my hair with free of charge. Very nice guy. I dont know that if he felt bad about getting water on my face while he was shampooing my hair or that he liked me enough not to take my money. Well, for whatever reason, I appreciated his talent.

   A story heard from my sister that I’d want to share… She read it from some Vietnamese book and I translated to tell you guys.

   A well-known animal trainer got a fish from the sea and thought that he’d make a big difference by training the fish to adapt to different environments where it had been in. First he trained the fish to live in fresh water, and he did it. He got the fish swim in a beautiful large fresh water tank in his home. Then he made another change by training the fish not to live in fresh water. Again, he was succesful. Later he trained the fish to walk and it walked around the house. He was so proud of his accomplishment and was eager to show the world that he took the fish for a walk in the park and the fish would follow him everywhere he went. Suddenly, it rained so hard and he ran to the rain shelter to stay out of the rain, but when he turned around the fish was not with him. He looked and looked for the fish. Finally he found a lifeless fish in the rain puddle. The fish drowned. It couldnt swim from the puddle to the shelter, and it died.

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   Like this fish (that we sisters called it “the walking fish”), some people who dont know how to get out of a place or situation where/when they dont want to be in but because of how they are used to it and that they accept to be in that place/situation instead of fighting to get out. This is called a “habit”. Creating habits for yourself sometimes is a good thing. However, some habits can effect you negatively. Instead of struggling in the place you dont want to be, why cant you do something to get out from it? Some people just dont have the courage to change or fight to find the way out, or is it just that it has been a routine for them to follow that they just cant survive without following it. For some people who have been in relationships for a quite long time but they dont love the other, and for this so-called reason, they just cant get out from it. They have to hang on there with that one they dont love because they think that they are not capable to be by themself. I myself in the past years was in a bad habit. I kept moving on from one relationship right to another without being in love or realizing that we were not meant to be. I just got so used to being involved with someone and I had to have somebody to call boyfriend. And I didnt realize it until I was in the last relationship when I knew that loving each other was not enough for a strong stable relationship but it required both to be IN LOVE. I thought I was in a happy place where I got to see and be with him everyday. Everyday routines are repeated constantly and we just followed it like machines. One day we sat down and realized that we had moved to fast and we didnt want to be in relationship for its convinience or because of the habits that we had accidentally created. We wanted something more than that.

   It’s been quite long I havent updated xanga. It’s been so busy for me and also, my freaking computer kept on freezing on me when I tried to update. Last week I flew to California for only 2 days which I didnt get to do anything much but eating out a lot. The moment I got to my friend’s place, I weighted myseft and I was very happy with the number 94, but in two days without watching what i ate, i weighted 96 lbs before I left Cali. Good thing that I didnt stay any longer than that. Anyway, I had a great time there. Now I have to get back to my normal menu… steam chicken and vegetables.

   Last Saturday, I went to Spartanburg, SC to sing for the Tet Festival there. Spartanburg is a small city with very few Vietnamese compared to Atlanta, but the Tet Festival was surprisingly fun and well- organized. They let people get in free and all kind of food was provided. People over there were so into music and dancing. They danced like they never get to dance in their life. They wouldnt let me get off  the stage after many many songs. However, I got annoyed with some guys who kept asking me to dance with them, and one thing that I dont like to do is dancing with strangers. Gosh..  Finally they left me alone after asking many times and they figured out that I was mad. What a release!!! Other than that I had a great time.

   I was lack of sleep in the past week, and trying to make up some sleep as I can. I didnt get to sleep much while I was in Cali, and I tried to catch up some sleep on the flight back, but this one white guy sat next to me on the flight kept asking me all kind of questions. I was so tired and ignored him and turned to the other side to sleep. I slept for a little bit and my neck was hurt so bad, so I woke up. As soon as I woke up, that guy opened his eyes and tried to talk to me. I went back to sleep again, and as the moment I yawned, he opened his eyes and sat up to talk again. He asked me what time was it, then I realized he got a watch himself. Then, he ordered me a drink without me asking. How nice is that…He ran to the bathroom and came back in couple minutes with his hair well- combed and I could smell some cologne out of him. At last, he asked me to join dinner with him in the airport but too bad, Mandy called… she was waiting for me at the baggage claim area. So, buh bye…  Saturday, after singing I hung out at this girls’ place where we ate and had a couple drinks. I didnt get to go to sleep until 4AM and woke up at 7:30AM to drive back home. Sunday, I sang for the wedding and went to sleep late again. Finally, last night I got to go to bed early, but then Mandy was on the phone and she laughed so loud which woke me up, but I could still hear her “Rachel is sleeping and she wants me to get out of the room”. I can get so cranky when I try to get some sleep and people are loud. This is when I can be a real BIATCH.

     Mandy and I was on our way to the mall while she was telling me how Phuong’s boyfriend is sweet to her at the Charity dinner that they all went together. Phuong is my cousin who is my age. We moved to US at the same time, we started college at the same time and went to the same college. Now she graduated from college, she has a lot money on saving account, she has a boyfriend who loves her dearly and is always with her when she needs him. She is successful in term of love and money while I have trouble with saving money and finding myself an Average Joe. Why is that??? Then Mandy asked me if I would trade place with my cousin. Well, I admire her for her success, but I love my life somehow.

    I bought many DVDs, toys, and candies and wrapped them into many colorful Christmas presents for my nephew Dalton. He got so excited when he opened my presents cuz he saw all the cartoon characters that he knows. For the first time of his life he knows what does Christmas mean and he thinks it means presents with toys and candies, or things that he likes ( of course not a bowl of rice or a glass of milk). Til this morning, he got presents from my friends and auntie, he was even more excited cuz he remembered what he got from my presents last night. But when he opened the first one and it’s a jacket, he asked “where’s Christmas?”, and then to the second present, his face totally changed. His facial expression told me that “no, those aint Christmas”, then he turned to the other side to look for the DVDs.

   What I saw cracked me up. After today, I have to tell him that Christmas is not about presents, it’s about sharing, loving and appreciating the love from others.

   Dalton is sharing a cherry with baby Sophia.Yes baby, it means SHARING.

     Dear Santa,

   This year, I’ve been nice but not naughty. I deserve the present that I want and I want him in my life again. I never wanted anything so bad and I’ve been wanting so many things in life. Please…. I’ll be waiting by the chimney.

    First, I want to wish Holy and MM the happiest birthday. Wish them much success as they get older.

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    I went to the Yonka seminar in Swiss hotel in Buckhead on Monday where I learned a lot more about the products, marketing strategy, and new techniques. Sitting among the group, I felt so good about myself. Everybody around me was at least 10 years older than I am. There were some people’s years of experience are more than my age. When I walked in, they looked at me as I got lost and wanted to ask for direction. As they shared their experiences, I thought to myself “Where am I gonna be in this industry when I’m their age?”  And I smiled when people think I got started early.

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     I’ve never been so calm in my whole life like I am now. Within a year, I’ve learned so much about life and I am being very calm and patient about everything. There’s a saying in Vietnamese that I translated “The only one word that every human keeps studying in his/her whole life but cant never completely get it… is the word Patience”. Yes, I am studying it and even I havent gotten completely but I keep on trying my best.

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      I wrote a Christmas card and a $50 check for this client of mine who officially goes to jail next week and serves 15 years for some stupid thing she did and that she regrets it for the rest of her life. She hasnt recieved my gift yet, but she came by yesterday to see me one last time before she goes in with Christmas presents that she got for me. I cant never understand what and how she made such the huge mistake but I dont just hate her or avoid her. However I feel sorry for her and wish her the best of luck in the future.