Women's Christmas Dessert 2010

Dinner with the 20s Community Group 2010

Community groups come and go. But every now and then, you strike gold as a leader and get a bunch of awesome, God-fearing people who genuinely pursue their faith with soft and humble hearts. These girls are my special blessing this year.

We had dinner at Macaroni Grill.

And talked for two hours!

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving 2010 can be summed up in three words: fabulous FOOD, close FRIENDS, and one adorable DOG! Thanks for the invite, Jen. You truly are like family to us.

Alicia making her first roux.

Francis bringing the drama to green bean snapping.

Succulent, mouth-watering turkey! It really was moist and delectable.

My first trip to the buffet.

Francis and I fell in love with Jen's mom's dog Riley (appropriately named after the famous basketball coach Pat). I couldn't believe Riley was a rescue dog from a shelter. He had been found roaming in a tomato field all alone, probably the casualty of a foreclosure. Riley is so well-behaved and sweet! His fur is silky smooth too.


I don't have any pictures to prove it, but four of us played an epic game of Monopoly at the end of the evening. 4.5 hours of down and dirty business dealing. Francis won, of course.

Sampling the Culinary Delights of Pasadena

Francis lived in Pasadena when he was 18, and he still harbors wistful memories of his favorite eateries. If you know Francis, then you understand. We visited all his old haunts.

1. Himeko Chicken (now Teri & Yaki) : Asian dark chicken served with kimchi salads


2. The Hat: Hot pastrami sandwiches dipped in au jus, with a mountain of french fries

3. Tops: Chili-cheese fries and fresh grilled chicken salad with spicy carrots to start

I'm not sure why he is frowning in the photo -- probably because this was our last meal in Pasadena.

Here we are with Ellie McPhant after being turned away from Dancing with the Stars. We rushed directly from the airplane to the television studio in Beverly Hills, stopping on the side of the road to change into dressy clothes. We waited in line for 2 hours before being told we were some of the last people who would be able to make it into the show. All but two of the people behind us were told to go home. But 15 minutes later, they came back and said we would not make it into the show either. I was pretty disappointed, but maybe next time.

We also watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One while relaxing in Pasadena. The theatre we went to was amazing. It has a full bar and individually-reserved seats.

Disneyland on Francis's 28th Birthday

I planned a trip to LA for Francis's birthday because he has tons of happy childhood memories from Disneyland and we've talked about going for years. Above we are wearing our 3-D glasses before entering the Toy Story ride at California Adventure. That ride was by far my favorite because it's basically a giant game. I loved "shooting" 3-D pies, rings, and tennis balls at the screen while the Toy Story characters cheered me on.

Francis playing the standard Western shoot-em-up game that can be found at any amusement park. He made the owl's eyes light up just for me. *sigh*

About to take off on Space Mountain! The lines were exceptionally short because we went mid-week right before Thanksgiving, so we made it on a ton of rides. My favorites included Toy Story, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, California Screamin', and Matterhorn.

Putting the "A" in DisneylAnd.

Oh how I love amusement park food...if you can call a great cloud of fluffy pink sugar food.

And apple pie!

This shot was taken while we raced past the camera on the California Screamin' roller coaster. We got greedy at the end of the night when the lines were short and rode this one twice in a row. I felt nauseous after that. Luckily, it was the end of the day anyway. It was a super fun yet exhausting one.

Sunshine

Giants Game!

To say Francis and I are bandwagon-jumpers would be an understatement. The Giants were on the verge of clinching the NL West pennant. Exciting times for loyal Giants fans who have waited seven long years for this opportunity. Facebook friends were jealous that we had scored tickets to this pivotal game.

Meanwhile I had to search high and low in my house for even one piece of orange clothing to wear to the game.

Our friends Daniel and Linda hooked us up with tickets.

We were provided with orange rags to wave in the air when we entered the stadium. The energy of the 40,000 fans at the stadium was palpable. A sea of orange and black. We jumped right on board the band-wagon, cheering and booing at all the appropriate moments. (I think.) I tried to seem "in-the-know" so the surly old men seated behind us would not be able to tell. They made derogatory comments about the umps on every single call in favor of the Padres. As if they could tell from the nose-bleed section what was happening at 90 mph on the field!

Our friends Mike and Megan are Padres fans, so they remained seated during the cheering. Luckily, Mike is a physical trainer with legs the size of tree trunks. No danger of being beat up for his views about the Padres.

One-of-a-kind

My husband is unique.

Fashionable.

Fearless.

Unbelievably strong.

The word "special" might even come to mind. But what you may not know is that he classifies as one of the World's Very Best Husbands. Here's why:

We went next door to Danielle's house for a little get-together with friends to celebrate the sale of the shop. While I enjoyed dessert and conversation, I had no idea what was in store for me next. Suddenly, Francis got up and announced that he had a special gift for me. My friends looked on curiously with pleased smiles on their faces. I rolled my eyes because he knows I hate it when people are looking at me. Was this the surprise he had mentioned during our vacation last week? I heard him unwrapping something large in the next room. What the heck could it be?

Then he presented me with this gorgeous painting!

He had it specially commissioned for me by an artist I really admire. He remembered that I had seen paintings by Stacy Dynan displayed in the lobby of an office building in downtown SF last winter and really loved them. Her work is so whimsical, colorful, joyful and surreal. I never thought I would have a one-of-a-kind piece of art hanging in my home!

But with a one-of-a-kind husband, it shouldn't have been such a surprise. ;)

Trip to Maui!

In August, we took a very last minute vacation to Hawaii to celebrate the sale of the shop and decompress after three to four months of non-stop busyness. The photo above, taken on our last day in Maui, pretty much sums it up. It was awesome!

We stayed at the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel, "Hawaii's Most Hawaiian Hotel". I highly recommend it. Since we booked through Costco Travel, we received free breakfast buffet at the hotel's mixed plate restaurant. They served regular breakfast items along with rice, fish, and pork combos. And of course, the freshest, juiciest, most delectable watermelon, pineapple, and cantaloupe.

The first few days, we just wanted to enjoy the gorgeous ocean. The beach right in front of the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel was very calm. Nothing like the monstrous surf I'd always heard about. The water was cooler than I expected. It was about the same temperature as the Atlantic at the Jersey Shore during the summer months. It was also less clear than the Caribbean, which was surprising.

We could see two islands across the water. The tops of the island mountains seem to collect clouds from the air. The air temperature was absolutely perfect. That's really saying something coming from me! It always seemed to be on the verge of raining, but rarely did. Here's Francis performing a trompe-l'oeil on the boogie board we bought at Kmart.

We rented a cool little cabana with padded lounge chairs and an umbrella. We enjoyed drinking beer under the cabana and watching the ocean. The sun was super intense in Hawaii. Thank goodness our landlord Jane warned us. Even so, we both got sunburned.

Our favorite part of our vacation was when we snorkeled with sea turtles! Our hotel happened to be located just a quarter of a mile away from one of the best snorkeling spots on the island. It is a large outcrop of black volcanic rock that juts into the ocean, a haven for coral, seaweed, fish, and sea turtles. (Also a haven for teenagers and 20-somethings who like to jump off the rock into the ocean.) We were close enough to the sea turtles to touch them. In fact, some people were even hand feeding them seaweed. One dude accidentally kicked a turtle because he didn't see it. I especially liked when they came up for air. The shape of their eyes makes them look very wise, and sort of sad.

After getting a little sunburned, we decided to take a break from the beach one day and visit a small park that was more inland.

The Iao Valley needle was made from some sort of combination between lava, rock, upland water, and erosion. The valley was the site of many battles between native Hawaiians back in the day. Some dude was playing a traditional Chinese instrument at the top of the path, which was appropriate because the area, with its sharp, severe landforms and rich greenery, looks very similar to China.

After the Iao Valley, we pulled off the highway into another park right on the coast. Locals were having barbecues and kids were swimming in a little tide pool. It was a romantic English-major's dream come true! Me and my man...side-by-side...quietly reading until the sun set over the ocean. If only that happened more often. *hint hint Francis*

After the park, we grabbed dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. Francis was in heaven. He chatted with the owner in Spanish and admired her homemade food. He thoroughly enjoyed a few crispy tacos with two heaping spoonfuls of spicy salsa on top.

Later that night, Francis woke up at 1:00am with an itching sensation on his chest. It became steadily worse. Unbearable, even. We wondered what it could be? Sunburn? I know my sunburn never itches like that. Allergies maybe? Then we realized...the spicy salsa! He must be having a bad reaction to the unusual peppers in the salsa(it wasn't your standard habanero or jalapeno.) We jumped in the car and rushed to Safeway for some Benedryl. Nearly three hours later, his itching finally calmed down.

On a lighter note, I enjoyed taking a hula class taught by a hotel employee. The hotel offered lots of free classes on traditional Hawaiian culture. The dance I learned told a story. We acted out fishing in the Ka'anapali Bay and eating our catch with friends. Francis sat on the side and observed. He reported afterward that there was a stark difference between the gentle, fluid movements of the Hawaiian lady versus the robotic movements of me and the other two white ladies in the class. Haha!

We decided not to drive the entire Road to Hana, the famous trek that most tourists make. Instead, we drove only part of the road and stopped at two waterfalls recommended by the hotel staff. I saw tons of familiar tropical flowers growing wild in the forest!

Francis showing the size of the monstera leaves, to scale.

Gigantic, girl-eating plants.

Francis got into the murky pool beneath the waterfall. It was beautiful, but too cold for a wimp like me. Our donation to the waterfall was Francis's sunglasses. They fell off while he was swimming. Apparently, a local kid comes by every evening and fishes out all the items that tourists drop into the pool during the day. I hope he likes the sunglasses.

After our hike and swim at the waterfalls, we bought some fresh fruit from a stand in the parking lot. Mini-bananas and coconut juice, straight from the source. The coconut juice had a strange flavor. I think it would have been better chilled.