Browse Month: December 2011

Back to SF

On Wednesday afternoon, I ran some errands with my mom.  I made some returns at the mall and then we went to several places to find some salty chicken for dinner.  My mom made Kao Mun Gai (Chicken Rice) for dinner and Brother and Joy came over to join us.  It was the perfect last meal before heading back up to SF.

Today we got up at a reasonable time, had Mommy-made waffles and bacon for breakfast, and then headed out.  It was a smooth drive up with a stop at In-N-Out in Kettleman City.  We got home by 4:30 pm with lots of time to order pizza for dinner and to do the laundry.

It was a fun 5 days in sunny Southern California but I wish we had more time to hang out with our friends and family.  I think the dog enjoyed his time in The Magical House too.

Here is a collection of all the random photos I took this past week.

Catching Up

On Tuesday night, we had dinner at TGIFriday’s, with Huy, the Fernandos, and Agustins. It was fun to see them all together and I got a bunch of good laughs.

On Wednesday, Jes and I had lunch with Marie and the boys.  Jes had his favorite ramen and the boys gobbled up their noodles too.  Cole loved his Ninjago kit and Brandon was excited to play with his Cars.  It’s always great to see the Suminos and makes me miss the days when I would spend random afternoons with them when I lived in Irvine.

Lunch with the Girls

Holly made plans for us to meet up for lunch on Tuesday as a mini baby shower for me.  I drove Holly and my mom to Santa Monica for a little shopping at a baby supplies boutique and then we met up with Patty and Patti for lunch at Joe’s on Abbot Kinney in Venice.  We were seated at a corner table and had a delicious meal.  It was also a really good deal!  We all had the prix fixe meal of any appetizer, any entree, and any dessert for $19!

Here’s a photo of my chicken ravioli.  It was delicious.

The girls gave me some cute and thoughtful gifts for me and Kumquat and the whole event was really sweet.  It was also fun having my mom there too.  Thanks for planning such a fun afternoon, Hols!

Afterward, I stopped in to see little Andrew when I dropped Holly off at her house.  He’s grown quite a bit since I first met him in September.  At about 100 days old, he’s smiley and has filled out nicely.

Here are more photos.

Monday Funday

On Monday, I went to the nail spa with Jia and Joy and got a long-overdue pedicure.  With my growing tummy it’s getting harder to reach my feet.  In addition to a little clean-up of my toes, the lady gave me a nice massage to my calves and ankles.  Aaaah.

For lunch, we went to Din Tai Fung for some tasty soupy dumplings.  We met up with a couple of Johnny’s friends and Jes and Jason also joined us.  We got the juicy pork dumplings, pork fried rice, and the chicken soup.  It was all so yummy and we had to be rolled out the door.

Afterward, Brother and Joy took me to Brian’s Shave Ice in West LA.  I got a kiddie-sized shave ice with Dole Whip underneath and passion fruit + coconut syrup on top.  It was perfectly refreshing.

Christmas Weekend

On Christmas Eve, we left SF around 7:30 am and arrived in Cerritos just around 2:30 pm.  Koa enjoyed the car ride and we found ourselves in 75-degree weather once we got to The Magical House.

Brother and Joy were already there and they were in charge of dinner that evening.  We exchanged gifts that afternoon before dinner and Koa got a new friend.  It’s a pretty funny-looking monkey that squeaks and we got a good laugh while he chewed on Crazy Eyes’ head. We got some stuff from Thailand and the highlight gift was Jes’ new beerlao t-shirt.

Dinner consisted of pot roast with gravy and mashed potato, kimchee fried rice, kalbi, and a bunch of pan-chan.  It was a bizarre combination but that’s what my parents had requested and it was all tasty.

On Christmas morning, we went to church with Jason and Jia.  Pops was giving the message that day so that was cool.  We were greeted by old friends of the family and they were all congratulating us on our expected Kumquat.  They all said to us, “Your father is very excited to have a granddaughter.”

After church, we stopped at The Magical House to pick up my favorite treat, Sakoo Sai Moo.  I ate them up so fast that I didn’t even have the chance to take a photo this time so I’m posting an old photo.  It was THAT good.  The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent hanging out in Buena Park while the 27-lb standing rib roast cooked in the oven.

The family came over and we stuffed ourselves with prime rib, yorkshire pudding, salad, creamed corn, and Jes’ mom’s sticky rice.  I was so full and tired by the end of the night that I went to bed early before everyone had left.  I know that comes as a real shocker.

It was a fun Christmas weekend.  It’s always nice to spend time with family and eat lots and lots of food.

My Christmas Story

Back in November, Jes managed to convince me that it was a good idea for him to buy an overpriced jacket from Superdry.  Fortunately, he LOVES this jacket and wears it every chance he gets.  I admit, it’s a pretty cool jacket and saw how much he liked it, so I quickly got over the price.  A couple weeks ago, Ryan commented to Michelle that it was a cool jacket.  He NEVER comments on clothes so she thought it would make a good birthday gift for him.  So, now they’re twinsies and it drives Jesse a little nuts to think that someone else has his coolio jacket and has been threatening to buy a new jacket.  So this afternoon I got a photo texted to me of him in a new jacket and a message that said he was going to model it for me tonight. This is VERY typical of him…a guy who never waits for anything and thrives off of instant gratification.  During the whole ride across the bridge, I kept thinking how this was going to be how he was going to make us poor.

When I picked him up from work this evening, he was carrying a big box that held his new jacket.  I was SO annoyed that he went ahead and bought ANOTHER jacket that costed even more than the first one!  During the short drive home, I threw a minor hissy fit and vowed to go shopping for myself this weekend and to forget about trying to save money by buying $20 Target bags instead of the fancy Kate Spade that I saw in the window. In his usual fashion when he gets in trouble, he just laughed it off while I practically had smoke coming out of my ears.

Once we got home, I was about to make him put on his new jacket to walk the dog for me until he finally admitted that it was actually a gift for me.  I thought he was lying to get out of walking the dog but it was true.  I opened the box and it turned out to be a fancy Michael Kors Hamilton Tote!  I didn’t know whether to punch him in the face or give him a big hug.  Lucky for him, he got a big hug and I felt really embarrassed while he had a smug look on his face.  He doesn’t surprise me very often and this was certainly his best “Bazinga” yet.  I got a memorable gift and he got a really good laugh.  Apparently, I fell right into his trap and everything went exactly as he had planned all day long.

Here’s a photo of the my Christmas present.  Isn’t it lovely?  I have the best (and worst) husband ever!!!  Love you!