August Noteworthies

This month, I want to start with my book review for a book recommended by my sister in law.

So heartwarming.  This is a story about a man who suffered the loss of his son, is a recovering alcoholic and decides to spend his summer traveling to different national parks with his late son while spreading his ashes along the way.  His RV breaks down and through that event, encounters two young boys who grew up in a troubled household and ends up taking them with him on his journey.  It was so beautiful to see their relationship unfold and how they unexpectedly changed each others' lives forever.  After finishing this book, I feel inspired to rent an RV and drive to the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon with Echo (although dogs are only allowed in limited areas at these parks, boo!).  And there was the cutest dog, Woody in the story as well and of course, I pictured him to look like Echo.  If you're looking for a book that inspires you to get out into nature and leave you feeling warm inside and bursting with love, this is a book for you!

This month was all about birthdays.  Happy birthday to my sister-in-law, my brother, J, and most importantly, my Mom who turned 60!  My brother and I took her to Mastros a day before her actual birthday and then we celebrated with the rest of the family on her actual birthday.  

I was also quite spontaneous this month taking two less than 24 hour trips just for the fun of it!  Earlier in the month, I flew up to SF and visited my old stomping grounds from when I used to work up there (i.e., ferry building, Miette's cupcakes).  Toward the end of the month, I went to Chicago and covered all the touristy stuff in one FULL day.  Think Navy Pier, the Bean, Buckingham Fountain, Soldier Stadium, architecture tour, Hancock building....yes, everything!

 The weather in Chicago was absolutely perfect!

Finally, I ended the month with an amazing time at Outcry where Kari Jobe and Hillsong Y+F performed.  I always love worship - it is when I feel most connected and at peace!

Hillsong Y+F. Kari Jobe. Sister in Faith. ❤️ #outcrytour #hillsongyoungandfree #karijobe #trulyblessed

A video posted by Truly Blessed (@trulyblessedssl) on Aug 30, 2016 at 1:23am PDT

Book Review: Big Little Lies

I finally finished my book for July.  I read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.  I heard that she has written a series of books and this was one of her first ones.  After having finished this one, I'm not sure if I am going to check out her others, not because it wasn't good, but because it wasn't amazing like some other books I have read.  Maybe it is my lack of brain cells but I found it difficult to follow so many different characters, remembering who was married to whom, and who's kids were whose.  I also wasn't sure about the synopsis of the book until I was halfway into it...seriously is it just me?  Basically, this book is about a group of women whose children go to the same uppity private school from all different walks of life.  You can expect the typical real housewives drama until someone is killed.  The parents of the school recall the events leading up to the night of the incident as the detectives try to identify who the murderer is.  If you like murder mysteries, this book will give you a good run for your money! 

July Noteworthies

This month was an exciting month for me because my brother got married!  I was both a guest and a coordinator for their beautiful wedding at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu.  I had no idea that they had an entire resort area there that's dog friendly!  I am definitely going to check it out one of these days when a staycation is required!

 

Yay for family shot!

 It was really great to see extended family

 LOL, my grandma in these photobooth photos

I have always been a huge lover of live music, especially if it's a cover band.  During my walks with Echo, I have hard my neighbors playing in their garage and found out they were playing a show at a nearby restaurant.  Of course I went!  It was so much fun eating Argentinian food while watching these guys jam.  

I always hear these guys jamming when I walk Echo. So awesome to see them play tonight @thepeppertreegrill #madatoms #livemusic

A photo posted by Sherly Lam (@trulyblessedssl) on Jul 23, 2016 at 9:55pm PDT

I also rode the Santa Fe Dam trail for the first time and let me tell you, it was so much fun!  It felt like a much needed escape for an hour or two, the road was wide, and the path was fairly flat.  It was perfect for a beginner rider.

A photo posted by Sherly Lam (@trulyblessedssl) on Jul 16, 2016 at 9:14am PDT

Other noteworthies that I didn't take photos of was that my girlfriend and I went down to Palm Springs for a full day of shopping for her birthday, we celebrated my sister's and brother in law's birthday (yay!), and went to the 626 night market for the first time (it was just meh).

As far my book review is concerned, I ashamedly admit that I am only halfway through July's book because I forgot about my goal, hence got a late start!  But I will catch up and will review my book once I've finished it!

Book Review: Sandcastle Kings

As June was quite uneventful with the exception of Vous Conference which I already blogged about, I'll jump right into my book of the month.  This month, I started two different books, both of which I could not get through!  This has never happened before especially with my goal oriented mentality where once I start something I must finish!  Seriously though, I couldn't get through the others, so I settled on Sandcastle Kings by Rich Wilkerson which I got as a gift from Vous Conference!

This book was an easy read and I enjoyed the personal stories Pastor Rich shared throughout because they were relatable and quite humorous!  I enjoyed the format of how the book was written by telling a few stories from the Bible and then highlighting Jesus' character and Christian values from those stories.  I most appreciated him explaining the meaning of Jesus dying on the cross for us as I think for those who didn't grow up in the church, that could be a difficult concept to grasp so having it dumbed down brings a little more gravity to the sacrifice that was made.  I recommend this book! 

Here is one of my favorite videos of Pastor Rich describing his shopping experience with his wife.  So ridiculous, but oh so true!

 

Balayage Debacle

This past weekend, I decided to subtly lighten my hair for the summer with a trendy balayage.  I have done it once before at a salon that specializes in balayage, but due to distance, I decided to ask my stylist whether she could color my hair for me.  This lady has cut my hair for at least a decade, but I have never asked her to color because frankly, I didn't know whether I could trust her.  I am one of those who will cry if my haircut turns out poorly.  I guess my first mistake was still moving forward after she said she didn't know the term balayage.  I proceeded to explain to her what it was I wanted...lighter highlights that didn't start at the root of my head, but blended into my natural color to minimize future maintenance.  She assured me that she knew what she was doing.  4.5 hours later, I went home with the worst hack job EVER.  The color was not blended in at all and my hair looked like it had grown out over the past 6 months and I had no time to touch it up.  She spent 2 hours trying to fix it, and I finally asked her to stop trying because I could tell it was hopeless.  

The next day, I bit the bullet (well, I really didn't have a choice) and headed to the salon I had once been to before and asked them whether they could fix it.  This young girl was so confident she could, so I decided to move forward.  2 hours later, I think I'm almost blonde and though it was better than the previous day, you could still see the blunt line that was there before.  The stylist told me that I would have to come back multiple times to break through that line since it was so prominent.  Why didn't she tell me that to begin with?!  To which she responded was her bad...well her bad doesn't make up for the fact that my hair is still not presentable and I would have to live with it for a while to let it recover from the 8 hours of damage it had just undergone!  And of course, she took my money.  At least the stylist the day before had the decency to just charge me for the products she used since I wasn't a happy customer.  Here are the photos:

(Left) Seriously, I think I could have done a better job!

(Right) Look how much lighter my hair turned out and you can still vaguely see the drastic color change even after the "fix"

So, I have to attempt to hide the hideous by curling my hair everyday

Or putting it into a braid, which seems to be the popular look these days

Lesson learned: Do not be lazy when it comes to hair.  Pay the extra $$$ and travel the extra mile(s)!