New Year....New Beginnings!

Every year at this time of year - one is brought to humility as they check off their goals achieved and goals still left to be achieved.

2008 has been a great year for me. Another busy year. Some goals I have been able to achieve while others have remained to gather dust on the 'procastination' shelf. I will need to find a more creative 'metric system' to ensure I achieve more goals in 2009. I have some exciting pre-thought out goals and most of them have carried over from previous years...haha. K - not that funny.

Christmas was great! Always nice to spend it at home with family. There are many who are without family and it can be an extra lonely time for them. So for my family being healthy and around me as a constant brings me strength.

I got 2 volumes of Gossip Girl... hahaha Don't hate me. I find it entertaining in a strange way :) Is it a sign that I need a LIFE....lol.

Tomorrow Lisa is induced with child #4 and her 2nd Son. Her first son was too good for this mortal world and returned back home to his father in Heaven. This bouncing baby boy Na'a Jr we are anticipating his arrival. He will have 2 very active sisters whom I know will smother him with giggles, hugs and umahs! New Years eve will be another FAMILY AFFAIR whether it be at home or in the hospital - either way, it will be a BLAST.

Happy New Year to you all :)

Time of Joy...even amongst much dispair!

This holiday season sure feels different to most. Many friends and family out of employment and struggling to make ends meet. This Christmas season will be SIMPLE for our family. One of gratitude for the many blessings we continue to enjoy. There is a lot to still JOY over in our family and especially for me. I have my health and so far I've been lucky enough to not get sick. My family is around me and they are all safe and sound. Thankful for good friends who continue to be there and fill times of void for me. I am humbled this year to be more focused on the real reason for this season. Thankful most of all for a wonderful Savior in Jesus Christ who made this all possible and blessed us with eternal HOPE beyond this world.

Thanksgiving was great and it almost felt like it came and went in a FLASH. The Hallmark channel sure keep me in the Christmas spirit and motivated to share JOY with those around me who may not be as fortunate. My prayers to those struggling to survive! Who would've thought we would live in such a time. My nieces and nephews get to learn at a very early age the importance of SIMPLICITY and preparing for the future. Prophets have continued to ask us to prepare ourselves and now we are entering sure times when we need to have our storage and welfare set to support us - because WHO KNOWS what TOMORROW brings?

But for today I am truly thankful and feel MUCH JOY for TODAY! And hopefully doing my part for preparing for tomorrow - whatever that brings me :)

Thanks Ashlee....

Thanks to Ashlee Newbold I get to expand my Blogging experience beyond the basic templates and gadgets...LOL. Thanks Ashlee!

And also we get to enjoy her Chocolate Crunch Treat!! Yum... I can smell it now in the oven!

Inspired...

It has been another busy yet eventful week...

Our TOFA Education Tutoring & Mentoring Project has kept me on my toes this week. Helen and I start our grant writing adventures tonight - that should be interesting. Thankful to our mentor from Stanford University who has been a tremendous asset to this project. We made light on some inside connections on both the Wells Fargo Grant and also with Pacific Rim. Members who sit on both boards were present at our Montly TOFA Board meeting this week who were a wealth of information and assistance to us.

Personally my Weight Watchers was another highlight for this week. I was able to stick to my points as well as maintain my Kick Boxing and Ab work outs every morning this week. Tomorrow morning I will be watching Tom's kids in Cameron Park while continuing my grant writing on the computer and hopefully will be able to squeeze in some outdoor activities with the girls before dark.

Last night I watched Oprah - my favorite show! I discovered another inspiration in Gurbaksh Chahal who at a young age discovered and worked hard to make his dream life come true not only for him but his family. A fellow Nor-Cal resident and immigrant from India as a young child. 2 things that inspired me even more as I have always believed my family was brought here to discover and take hold of untold opportunities to make our dream lives whatever that includes.

And then today my lil sister and cousin Vanessa sent some of her wedding pictures. Still not happy with myself that I didn't make it down last month - but she knows I love her dearly! My mini me!

Today is my brother Alfred's birthday. Big Family dinner yay! Before I hit the books and computer with grant writing with Helen - most likely pulling an all nighter.

Happy 8th Anniversary...TOFA OF SACRAMENTO, INC

I must join Helen and express gratitude for TOFA of Sacramento, Inc and its organization, leaders and community supporters! I enjoy being a part of an organization with high integrity, morals and values. TOFA has come a long way and overcome many hurdles. Consistently remains positive through times of minimal support and negativity because of the focus remaining on 'service'. I have gained so much and grown to love those whom I serve and work along side with. TOFA will be around for a very long time. TOFA has matured in years and strength. Areas of Focus are: Education, Cultural Arts & Crafts, Nutrition and Healthcare, Cultural Entertainment and Better Living Standards. My involvement once was Cultural Entertainment but passion and involvement now solely is with Education. Education is key! TOFA provides Educational resources through mentoring, tutoring and scholarship awareness. We believe in recognizing our students who graduate from high school and especially from College and University. As well as those who succeed in various talents through sports, music or other fields. This is what drives us to keep going, to keep serving our polynesian community as a local resource. Thank you to TOFA board members who continue to dedicate their time, talents and means, often sacrificing in personal committments to support. Everyone involved in TOFA freely volunteers and gives of themselves to serving our community. Our API community has truly supported and lifted us up to higher ground, always there for us e.g CAPITAL, APAPA, PACIFIC RIM etc. Thank you to the Sacramento City Unified School District for allowing us to be apart of the API SCUSD board to address local Pacific Island barries and issues preventing a lot of our students from succeeding. Thank you to Tom Bhe for always believing and actively advising our every move. To members past and present - THANK YOU for your presence and contribution! Without YOU TOFA would not be here today! And lastly, we recognize the God Mother of TOFA - Melelea Silivia Tausinga who returned the heavens above last year. Mele truly inspired and was the backbone to TOFA's existence. We love you Mele!

'Ofa lahi atu...

p.s See you at the Celebration tonight!!!

Yay...its MONDAY (I never would've thought)

Definitely unusual for me to be saying "Yay its Monday"! However, today I went to Weight Watchers (Week 6) and weighed in to find out I lost 7.2lbs. I am stoked. Last week I really worked hard at it. Kickboxing (Turbo Kick) is GREAT! I'm loving it! I have found my routine of doing my work out in the morning and then any spare evening I add an extra workout at Zumba at 24hr Fitness. So I'm thrilled I've found my groove. The eating on the Flex program went very well for me, I find when I'm more honest in my points counting - I found where I was over rationalizing with my points...haha. Fun while it lasted - but I seriously need to get on back on the wagon and loose real weight. I'm feeling great! I'm looking forward each week to achieving my goal - seeing the pounds drop off has been a tremendous boost to my self esteem. Its great. More progress with the Grant writing and direction we need to take - so we are seeing light there too. I'm home and after paying some bills online, thought I'd drop a line in to share how grateful I am to be healthier today than I was last week, last month or evern last year. Its great! I hope it continues to get even better.

Today a lot more emails back and forth on PROP 8 - more negative attention from the No's on Prop 8 towards our Yes on Prop 8 supporters. Even to the point of protesting outside our sacred Oakland Temple. Now thats just pathetic and below the belt to go there. Its a reality of who is on the Lords side and who will suffer serious consequences for their evil ridicule. At least we can sleep at night with peace of mind, knowing we are all on the Lords errand. My continued prayers for anyone who faced by this type of retaliation. God Speed!

Stake Conference was yesterday. The running theme was on Families and the Temple! Of course extremely appropriate to our current day. Temple attendance at the Sacramento Temple has dropped and they think all of the rallying for Yes-Prop 8 might be one of the causes - but none the less we need to all remember to be faithful in our attendance and this important work. An invitation to those like myself to RETURN and COME BACK! I truly felt the Saviors hand in that invitation and took it very personally! And I will.

I smell din dins! I'm off to see what Lisa has cooked for tonight. Yum!

Yay its Friday!

Hip Hip Hooray its FRIDAY! This week work went by real quick. Lots of happenings personally and professionally. A lot of Community work this week between TOFA of Sacramento http://www.tofaofsacramento.org/ and our Education Project that is rolling out with the SCUSD. More events rolling out with Yes on Prop 8. Family in SF who have faced more negative retaliation both physically and emotionally. Thankgoodness for being well rooted in real values to get you through the not so nice. I do need to get out more and do more with rallying or something. I made progress this week with meeting with my Major's Director to get set for next semester. I am returning to honor my word to my Dad 4yrs ago to complete my Senior year at CSUS. I now have a mentor/tutor who currently works at Stanford as a Research Analyst who has empowered me to believe I can do it and started planning my course of action for MBA. This week seem to be centered around Education - which is what I need to be reminded of until I complete my BA and then MBA. I thoroughly enjoy working with our TOFA Education Team who are a group of dedicated and driven professional women willing to give of their time and means to a great cause. Working closer with the School District too has moved our progress strides ahead.

Disappointed this week with Gossip Girl and 90210 - Hellow what happened to the new episodes?...haha. Good thing I have little spare time to waste on meaningless TV drama...haha.

I'm ever thankful this week for my health, family, good friends and energy to help do some good for others in the community.

On a final note - nothing right now is more pressing than the 2008 Elections and voting YES on PROPOSITION 8!! Traditional Marraige needs to be protected and kept sacred as it was naturally designed! Heavenly Father has a great plan for FAMILIES and our precious time on earth and in the eternities to come.

Looking forward to Movies and Dinner with good friends tonight (Helen, Gloria, Linzie, Pua and Ashlie) and hanging out tomorrow with my precious nieces and nephews at the Pumpkin Patch and partying at home tomorrow while Alfred goes to receive his scholarship awarded by CAPITAL. More blessings...Heavenly Father sure is kind to our family. Stake Conference for Elk Grove Stake this Sunday - looking forward to hearing more inspiring messages as we just did from General Conference.

Have a great weekend!

This is harder than it looks.....

I'm learning fast that BLOGGING is a thing of the now :) Thinking of a catchy, not so corny title is not as easy as it looks! Yet, I think my title is pretty elementry...haha Oh well! Thanks to Poutu'a and Helen who helped me at a moments notice with their own ideas - thanks gurls!

Happy to have arrived and hoping to get the gist of this soon.


& BTW...Protect Marraige - Vote YES on Prop 8!