Goodbye Christmas. Hello Thailand!

We’re leaving for Thailand tomorrow night and I’m in preparation mode. I’ve put away the Christmas decorations, took down the tree, made packing lists and to-do lists, and did a little research on-line today. Christmas came and passed so quickly this year yet it seemed like our trip to Thailand would never get here.
I purchased a couple books back in August to help me brush up on my Thai and orient me to the cities that we’ll be visiting. I’m excited to see how much Thai I can still speak and if it will all come back to me while I’m there. It will also be nice to see Thailand through my grown-up eyes and senses since the last time I was there I couldn’t wait to come home. I remember my dad advising me to wait until I grew up before returning to Thailand. He said, “you’ll appreciate all this later”. I hope he’s right. I can’t wait to see the elephants, beaches, my dad’s old neighborhood, and my mom’s old house. However, I’m not looking forward to the sticky weather and blood-thirsty mosquitos. So far it looks like we’ll be in Bangkok for most of the time and going on small trips to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north and Phuket in the south. Good times…

Merry Christmas!

It’s officially Christmas and much of our holiday fun is over already. On Friday, we had our 6th Annual Christmas Party with the usual food, drinks, and sucky gift exchange. It was so nice to see everyone together in one place again. Over the years, we’ve gotten older and wiser but we’ve all managed to stay the same. This also goes for the exchange gifts. This year the theme was “something shiny” and boy oh boy did the gifts suck…as usual. Why is it that every year we end up with some martini glasses or a shaker regardless of the theme? I don’t remember any of us really enjoying martinis and yet they keep coming. Some of the funny gifts include rolls of coins worth the requisite $25, a shiny vibrator, lots of items from Crate & Barrel that included a gift receipt, and a couple of obvious re-gifts such as a Homedics rain something. We’re going to have to revamp this gift exchange thing. If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know.
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On Saturday, I went to Fry’s with the Lao brothers to find a couple more gifts to finish off the shopping list. We also managed to find power adapters that we’ll need in order to play with our laptops on the 17-hour flight to Thailand. When we got home, I made cookies and cupcakes for the Christmas dinner while the boys wrapped the presents. The dinner at Uncle Dennis’ house was cool. The food was yummy and the gifts for the exchange were much better than Friday’s. My Homedics rain thingy went to Auntie Cheryl’s mom who looked a little confused when she first opened it but seemed to actually appreciate it. I think it’s in good hands now. I ended up with a really authentic Italian cook book and a DVD of “The Piano”. Jes won some spa towels and Jason won his own gift back.
So now it’s Christmas Day and we don’t have any major plans for today. Before you know it, it will be time to pack up for Thailand and be on our way.

game night

We went to Scott’s house to hang out and play some board games last night. His wife and 3 kids were also there and joined in on the fun. We started out playing poker and one of Scott’s kids won. I actually think they all know the game better than me. Anyway, after they went to bed, we kicked up the drinks and played a Cranium-like game that they’ve had for 10 years. So the subjects and clues were a little out-dated and I didn’t recognize half of the famous people listed on the cards. It was still fun though…by the way, the girls rocked it that night and won two games.
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Tonight we’re having our Annual Christmas Party in our little birdhouse once again. The gift theme this year is “something shiny” and should be interesting to see how people interpret it. It’s going to be a hoot…I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in one place again. Hopefully everyone will be on their best behavior tonight…doubtful. Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

More cheese, please

In keeping with the American spirit of gluttony and obesity, Jes, Jason, and I went to The Melting Pot last night for some fondue.
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The only other time I’ve had fondue was in Costa Rica and it was alright. It was more fun just eating with friends. Well, this place has been in Irvine for about 3 years, which is as long as we’ve lived in Irvine. We’ve attempted to try it several times and each time we get thrown out because we don’t have reservations. I must be dumb or just unaware of the popularity because each time the girl at the front desk scowls at me and says, “Uh, guests normally need to make reservations at least a week in advance”. In response to her statement I am sincerely shocked and have actually said to her, “REALLY?!”. Then I walk away saying, “But it’s just fondue!” Apparently fondue IS popular and I really DO need to make a reservation. *sigh*
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Well, I actually picked up the phone last week and made a reservation. When we arrived, the girl at the front shouted out, “Do you have a reservation?!” I smiled and said, “Why yes we do!” At our seat, the waiter was very thorough with his description of the menu and we decided to go with everything…cheese, meats, seafood, chocolate, you name it! Let the gluttony begin!!
The swiss cheese was really good…so good that we asked for more and ended up paying for another whole order. Oh well, the boys managed to finish it anyways. The meats and seafood were cooked in a burgundy wine concoction and I think the butter sauce was the winner out of the 8 choices we had. Dessert included marshmallows, strawberries, pineable, pound cake, brownie, and cheesecake dipped in melted milk chocolate. That was very yummy.
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Overall, the experience was fun and the food was tasty. It’s a nice place for a group of friends on a special occasion. I also wouldn’t recommend going if you’re in a time crunch. You’ll have to plan on a nice long 3-hour dinner at this place and be prepared to waddle your way back to the car with post-gorging discomfort on the ride home.

got change?

I used to think Coinstar was so dumb. Why would you pay someone to count your change? Usually if you throw your change into the machine, they charge you a “coin-counting fee” so that you can get dollar bills in exchange for your coins. Well, they now have a special promotion where you can give them your change and get a gift card back without the fee. So…we jumped all over that on Saturday. Jes and I collected all of our loose change and ran over to the Albertson’s across the street. Out of one spaghetti jar filled with coins, we got back a $76 gift card for Amazon.com! Awesome!! Then we went home and bought stuff that we were already planning to buy…some lens filters, extra battery for my Canon, and a book for Jesse. Gotta love it!

Pre-Christmas Activites

Jason is home for the holidays and he’s staying with us until we leave for Thailand. Since he missed out on the Thanksgiving Roast, Jes made another one this weekend. It was a nice pre-Christmas dinner. The Standing Rib Roast was yummy and Jes made all the fixings including the real Lawry’s recipe for Creamed Corn.
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I also hung out with Marie and Cole for some last minute preparation for her Christmas trip to New York. Cole was in an extremely good mood today, which made shopping and lunch much easier. In fact, during lunch Cole was the life of the party. He sat in his high chair and kept turning around to smile and interact with the people eating at the tables nearby.