Wow, been a while since I've posted... Been a very busy couple of months with work and John and Jessica's wedding planning.. We finished making 130 invitations, they sent them out..everyone loves.. I think:-).. Also did favors yesterday so we're getting there. been sick a lot lately as well..caught the stomach flu twice in 3 weeks..ick! .. work has been stressful..we had midyear reviews with the senior team, a training course, just lots going on.. havent' done much around the house since we've been so busy. Brian is back into his climbing thing - he went to Leavenworth last week with his friends and climbed some mountain.. I don't want the details otherwise I might get nervous:-)..but he enjoys it.. Today, we finally got me a bike! .. woohoo.. Brian has been wanting to go riding so now that John and Jessica both got theirs, it was time.. We shopped and finally ended up with a Diamondback Sorrento bike..the 2006 model because its silver green...haha.. in fact that was the major selling point.. ;-).. Anyhow, its been about 20 years since I've ridden a bike and its true what they say,.. you never forget.. a little wobbly still but I think I'll get the hang of it. can't wait to take it out again around the neighborhood:-).

Brian in Leavenworth.. nice red helmet:-) safety first Sage Green.. my FAVORITE color.. what more can you ask for :-)
Stanley checking out the new ride... thats Brian's yellow bike..

Innertubing was a blast:-).. Its amazing..1 hour drive to Snoqualmie and we are in snow heaven. It was great.. Got up early, grabbed Kevoon and Kelley, some coffee and we were off. Met up with John, Jessica, Jaime, their parents and a bunch of other folks from Boeing. Man its a workout though.. coming down the hill is of course fun but trying to get back up is no fun..thank goodness for the lifts:-). Brian, John, et al were brave enough to lug their innertubes up the hill.. Moi, I took the lift. .hehe.. Came back to Seattle after and had some late lunch/early dinner at Chef Liaos.. hit the spot. If you look closely thats Kevoon.. and the red hat he lost while coming down the hill:-)
John and Jessica

contemplating..hmm..should I come down head first next time..decisions decisions??

Thats the last time Kelley tries to throw a snowball at Brian..

Weekend project complete! Well one of them. We were going to paint and do the tile but at least the tile is done. Brian switched out the tiles outside the fireplace with slate.. it originally had this whitish marble that was stained pretty bad from escaping embers.. Looks good. Thanks to Ben for the tile saw:-)

before

tiles setting with "spacers"

almost done..waiting for it to dry

Ta Da! done

Snow, snow, and more snow!!!. so much for a "mild winter"... thats what the weather forcasters said we'd get.. Thursday of last week, we got about 4 inches right as I was leaving for San Diego for another company meeting:-)... I guess all the Seattle folks brought the cold with us.. got to San Diego and it was a chilly 56 and rainy.. got a little better on Friday with 59 and no rain but still..not the 75 and 77 San Diego had right before we got there.. oh well..we had a good time nonetheless. The resort was absolutely amazing.. 2 PGA golf courses and a spa.. I got a "mini suite".. with 2 flat screens..a huge tub that opens into the master bedroom.. too bad I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked.. the property was amazing.. orange trees everywhere.. birds of paradise lined the entire resort..very California:-).. may have to go back sometime. Anyhow, got back into Seattle Sat and still snow on teh ground then more snow! Stanley loved it and we did too until it turned into more ice and cooooold temperatures.. back to normal now:-).. can we go out and chase more snowflakes...pleeezzz...

some Christmas photos.. We had a very nice Christmas Holiday.. I had 10 days off but sure didn't feel like it.. it was hard to get back but in a way, it was nice to get back to my "routine"... For Christmas this year, we did the usual dim sum with the family but instead of dinner at Cheng Goos, we had dinner at my uncle "Chef Liao's" house.. he just bought a house 10 min from us so I wasn't going to complain:-)... After dimsum, the kids, my parents, John/Jessica, et al came over to open gifts at our house.. what total chaos.. Before I could finish handing out the gifts, everyone was already litterally ripping into their presents..haha.. it was a lot of fun.. i got some crate and barrel serving dishes, BR Gift cards, PB gift cards, a sewing machine I bought for myself:-), some candles, my fav of all time "Kill Bill"...both of them... an orchid plant from my mom, and a bunch of others..wow, I did p retty good..hehe.. anyhow, after that we all headed over to Chef Liao's house for dinner, mahjong, etc... there were over 70 people there I think throughout the night.. awesome food.. great to see everyone too..

The tree..

I hate photos..

Present opening frenzy...6 months to prepare, 6 minutes to open:-)

Nothing for me?? Poor Stanley

"Beef on weck"!!. I've never been so impressed by a sandwich.. so impressed I was compelled to write about it.. I've heard of this sandwich from my coworkers but never in the mood to try it.. so finally yesterday I ran out of ideas and took a walk to the Buffalo Deli with my coworker.. Kimmelwick or beef on weck or wick..depending on who you ask is a roast beef sandwich dipped in au just with a horseradish/mayo spread all on a Kimmelwick bun which has toasted caraway seeds and pretzel salt.. sooo good.. can't remember the last time I've said that about a sandwich..haha..

Read more about this sandwich: http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060802/NEWS/60802004/1051

We are 4 gifts away from finishing up our Christmas Shopping!! happy dance.. This weekend I also got a console table that I've been wanting for our upstairs hallway.. its a little bare upstairs so this will be nice.. I love to buy furniture but unfortunately or maybe fortunately this house doesn't really need a lot of furniture.. so heres the console we just picked up from Pottery Barn:-).... need to dress it up a little..

I also placed an order for a sewing machine today.. Yep after 3 years of wanting one I finally made the decision to get one.. It wasn't much and if I hate it I guess I can pass it onto someone else who wants to give it a try..haha.. Now i can sew Stanleys' chewed up toys and hem my own pants .. i hope.. and pillows.. this year its scarfs since I took up knitting and next year everyone is getting pillows! hehe.. My mom promised to come to over and help me thread it.. then we'll see how this goes.. exciting;-).. dont' expect me to make my own clothing or anything close to that anytime soon.. I'm thinking simple - tablecloths, pillows..anything that requires 4 lines of stitching or less in a straight line.. that'll be me :-)

It finally feels like Christmas!! Brian and I went with Aunt Ruby this Sunday and got our trees.. 7 foot fresh noble firs.. they smell so good:-) Nothing like a fresh tree.. We brought it home, had some lunch then went off to get some lights, etc for it.. didn't find the sage green matte balls i've been wanting 2 years in a row. sigh..oh well, so we did the gold tree again. It looks awesome. We also got all of our out of towner's Xmas gifts, wrapped and ready to go. I think this is the first year we've had a tree and gifts ready to go this early -still not done but we're waaaaay ahead of where w'ere usually at:-).. so overall a great weekend, got lots accomplished and I'm excited to just sit back and enjoy this holiday!

Turkey Day came and went.. Finally back to work after 5 days and its actually not that bad.. I think I was beginning to get a littled tired of staying home:-)... We had a great Thanksgiving as usual.. I stayed home on Wed and baked a cheesecake - pumpkin .. Thursday - Turkey day, got up early to go to dimsum with the whole family at Jade Garden.. then we all headed over to Chef Liao's to check out his new house followed by dinner at Goo Goos.. I made a honey walnut, pear salad, my cheesecake and a fruit salad.. we had turkey, prime rib, egg rolls, chow mein, sticky rice, mashed potates and gravy.. brocolli salad and my salad.. lets see.. oh and some barbecue pork and barbecue ribs.. chinese style of course;-) I think we had close to 30 people.. I was hoping for leftover turkey but it was almost all gone:-(.. so we'll wait.. Christmas I might have to have Goo Goo make 2 turkeys..hehe.... so after dinner, Brian and I went home to relax..but the turkey didnt kick in so we went and did the midnight Madness Sale at the outlet mall up north.. INSANITY! never , ever will I do that again.. took us an hour to get off the exit.. had to park at the casino.. a line to get into the Banana store.. no thanks.. so we took off , got home around 2am..went to bed:-).. shopped on Friday and Saturday instead..

And what a way to end the holiday week - SNOW!!! yes, woke up to snow yesterday around 8am and it snowed all day.. I LOVE snow.. not sure what it is but makes me so happy to see it:-)I think we got close to 4inches when it was all said and done.. yes, 4inches isn't a lot but in Seattle, thats like 10 feet... Stanley had a blast slipping and sliding in the snow.. We hit the grocery just in case;-) but the roads cleared up enough for me to go to work today.. we'll see about tomorrow..another storm is supposed to come through tonight - Can't wait!

a very productive weekend..we finally got 2 chairs for Brian's "tv room" upstairs.. and its starting to look pretty cozy in there.. may have to claim that room as my own..hmmm...hehe..
So next is a rug, an ottoman coffee table, then Brian will need to figure out a way to get cable upstairs and he should be set:-).. We've been wanting to do that since last year so I'm glad we finally got the chairs.. we really wanted a couch but there was no way we were going to get a couch upstairs plus this is more versatile in case we want to turn that room into something else down the road.. And now that we've moved some things around ,I'm inspired to redo the hallway upstairs too.. a half moon desk I think.. and we've got to hang our family photos.. its only been 4 years since we got our wedding photos back ;-)

I can't believe how this year has just flown by.. I think I say that every year but seriously..we are 2 weeks away from Turkey day!! exciting.. same plans as every year..having dim sum, then mahjong then dinner with the whole family - question is do we do the dinner down south or up north this year.. north would be nice..less of a drive for us so we'll see. I think I'll do my usual and make a pumpkin cheesecake:-) for the chinese/american turkey day... turkey and eggrolls - where else do you get that.

Happy Halloween!!.. We got lazy this year and didn't do a pumpkin so I'm reposting the one we did last year since it turned out so nice;-).. haha.. Not doing much tonight. Just going to go home, and wait for the little trick o treaters. Stanley won't be happy I'm sure but he'll be okay
This is my 2nd day back in the office after a whole week of global meetings and dinners, events, etc.. glad to be back actually - back to the routine, the norm..

What a relaxing weekend!! Lots of family stuff, ran errands.. thats the way I like to spend a weekend:-) Boring probably to some people but really nice to me.. Saturday we had lunch with my family then had John, Jessica, and Stitch over for dinner... Sunday helped out my uncle in the morning then Brian and I ran to JoAnne fabrics and I found the fabric for my cushions! Wooohooo..only 8 months later and the best part.. it was 50% off;-).. nice.. and I learned to knit.. off the internet! got to love the internet.. If I dont' give it up its scarfs for everyone! hehe... its actually kinda therapuetic to knit.. same stitch over and over again.. but also satisfying to see your progress... we'll see how long this lasts.. I think I did crochet about 2 years ago.. that lasted half an afghan.. never did finish:-) but... I'm about a third of the way towards my first handmade scarf.. so that wasnt too bad.. apparently if I buy bigger needles it'll go faster..hmmmm

Last month has flown by... not exactly been a great month.. work is stressful, home is stressful.. can't wait until this is all over and things go back to normal:-( Until then I will try my best to be positive. Stanley had his 1 year birthday over the weekend..amazing - I didn' t know if I could deal with him! haha.. but he has been so good.. he has free run of the house now and has done a relatively good job.. He's all in all a great dog and we're lucky:-)... Weekend before last I went to a tupperware/housewarming party with some girls .. I didn't know people still did these but we had a good time.. got some tupperware to organize my pantry. Hopefully I wont' get hooked - who knew but tupperware can be pricey! Last couple of weekends, Brian has been spending a lot of time over at my aunts new home.. he and John have put in a new bathroom for them... she's very appreciative and I'm glad we were able to help! her new home is looking awesome..

This coming Saturday, Brian says he promises to put in my garden..hmm..how many times have we heard that now? hehe.. oh well, whenever... Oh and this Sunday, a lady who used to live in our home in 1940 stopped by to say hi.. She's so sweet - she brought old photos and gave us more information about how the home used to be .. basically not a lot of changes other then the new bathroom upstairs and losing its basement.. but she's very pleased with everything we've done and I'm glad:-). She's going to stop by again with her daughter so she can see where her grandparents lived.. how neat.. a little piece of history

Fall is definitely in the air.. The temperature outside has taken a dip since about a week ago..we're looking at low 60s for highs now.. windy, lots of trees turning, leaves falling... more rain.. We had a great summer but I'm excited that Fall is here as well. I love this time of the year.. get out the sweaters, boots.. the holiday season. Maybe I will once again attempt to work part time at Pottery Barn so I can save some money on furniture..hehe.. I say that every year but work gets busy, life gets busy...
As I mentioned we're taking a little break from the home improvement and jsut doing little things here and there.. have to pay off the bills we've racked up first;-) but we do have plans for more plantings, the veggie garden and of course the bedroom!

But the year has really flown by.. John and Jessica get married in about 10 months.. seemed just like yesterday when we said it was so far off and not so much anymore.. the whole family is so excited for them.. can't wait.. it should be one good party!

Been busy couple of weeks.. Wrapping up yearend reviews at work plus Brian's parents were in town:-) We had a great time.. ate out a lot, shopped a lot.. and now its back to normal and back to the grind. Not a lot happening.. got a rug that I've been wanting for a long time for the dining room.. and I'm loving it! it definitely adds some color into that room. Next I want to redo the master bedroom. Not sure I like the way its set up and definitely want to change the color so we'll see if Brian's up to the repainting. We also spent some time this weekend at my aunt and uncle's new house.. - our new neighbors.. I think Brian's going over there next weekend to help them remodel their guest bathroom.. just putting in a new sink, mirror and floors.. so not a huge project. Some pictures of the rug from the Pottery Barn website.

Brian, Aaron and John got back from their camping trip and what a trip it was.. They took off Friday evening and got home laaaattte on Sunday. They basically did a 4 day trip in 2 days. Sunday night, everyone was starting to get a little worried when 9pm rolled around and no word from teh boys.. bears, canoes, I don't know.. it didn't sound so good.. but they did call finally and got home around midnight. They looked exhausted but sounds like it was a great trip and the photos are amazing! I want to go too but not sure I will try to summit Desolation Peak. But a speedboat to the campsite would be fun:-) Enjoy the pictures!

First campsite.. beautiful..

canoeing to the campsite.. 20 miles away.

Ahh..finally.. Desolation Peak 6100 feet up - where Jack Kerouac stayed for 60+ days

Some photos finally! Brian tearing down the neighboring fence.. I think they put up over 500 boards with 5 nails a piece by hand! YikesOld Fence.. we kept a small amount of the boards for the veggie garden that will be added shortly.. or Brian tells me.. he told me that last year too..hmm.. I swear I'll grow lots of organic veggies and save us lots of money:-) New Fence - looking nice.. 6 feet.. no way the dog can escape now.. Its kinda sad though. Stanley can no longer stick his nose through the cracks to say hi:-(


And Kitchen.. ahh the kitchen.. what to do say other then that it took 8 months to fully "finish".. now trim, sliding door, paint is all in and it looks good:-)

Its Friday!! It has been a "looong" couple of weeks.. Review season at work is just killer.. All these meetings, paperwork, questions have really gotten me down.. Been sick the last week too but had to work through it:-( I'm starting to feel better but still quite achy all over.

But the weekend is here and Brian, Aaron and John are off to desolation peak or something to camp for 2 days so its just me and the dog.. it'll be nice to have the house to myself.. going tomake some cards, clean up a little, cook, and just relax.. well not all weekend.. My mom, aunt, are coming over on Sat so we can hit up the outlet mall then back to my house for dinner.. I think Jessica and Jamie will join us.. I think we may attempt to grill..

Been too lazy to post pictures but will soon.. I think the house is pretty much done for now - at least no more big projects. I think Brian has some crown work to do in the bathroom and some trim painting but we are set. the kitchen is done, the fence is done, upstairs is painted and the bathroom:-) It looks awesome and we'll be taking a little break from this house stuff until at least next spring or summer.. We are still going to put together my veggie garden but thats not a huge project:-)

This weekend Brian and Aaron and John are off camping.. forgot where they were going but they need a canoe in order to get to their camp site. sounds like fun if they don't run into any bears.

Its been a busy couple of weekends for Brian and Aaron.. Last weekend they put in a new fence for the backyard and theres still the side yard to do. That'll be a little harder since we need new fence posts.. This weekend Brian got his wisdom teeth pulled but luckily it didn't bring him down too much:-) He was already feeling better on Saturday so he and Aaron started the painting .. the upstairs, stairwell and downstairs hall are all down! and it looks awesome of course - amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do. Next is the kitchen. We have it all taped, caulked and ready to go. Don finally put in the finish work so now we can paint. They thought they'd be able to get to it today but the stairs took a lot longer then expected so next weekend is the kitchen.. then the inside of the house is pretty much done - except for crown in the bathroom which Brian is struggling with. He put up the ones in the kitchen and forgot how he did it..hehe.. If I don't get too lazy I'll put up some photos. This will be a looong week.. have to work all day Saturday for this yearend review stuff but oh well. Glad we're being proactive and getting it done.. Oh and Markane is back in town. Welcome back Markane:-) and Elaine comes into town on Saturday.. fun fun