The siding has begun! all and all it looks AMAZING! although I'm not so sure Brian's as excited anymore..hehe. this his a tough job and we'll be spending every weekend we have for the next month at least to wrap this up...haha.. We started with the far side of our house and what we thought would take 2 days has now taken 5..but Brian finished that up yesterday and today they got most of the backside done.. so just depends I guess. The back is apparently alot easier because its low and no big crazy ladders to deal with.. John and Brian have done such a good job..I have to say it looks even more professional then some of the professional jobs I've seen. So clean and nice.. we've also been lucky thus far.. no major damage that we could see.. a few rotten places and Brian took care of us immediately so we know its being done right:-) Dad was over to help last week and Kevoon has been swinging by on Sundays to help out. More pictures to come but here is the progress thus far:-).. I couldn't be happier.. now if I can just pick out a paint color we'd be set! hey I think I like your tool belt better then mine... can we trade??
Demolition! the fun part.. down comes the vinyl
Down comes the old tar paper and cedar
Seattle Cedar LBR MFG Co.. dont' think they're around anymore:-)
and whats under all that cedar but something called "ship lap".. who knows
Up goes new tar paper then 1/2inch shiny foil foam insulation "stuff".. those poor walls were never properly insulated..
and voila! our siding, hardi plank goes up! this is the pre primed color
Fancy nail gun .. best buy yet out of this whole project.. that and the new ladder.. more tools to add to the collection
Brian admiring his work last piece of the puzzle on the first side we started
work on back of the house begins..more demo!
couldn't run faster away from this mess!
Ugh.. water damage starting.. what we found under the vinyl.. luckily shiplap under that was fine..phew!

Voila- new tar paper and more shiny foil insulation stuff
First strip of hardi plank goes on
more hardi...

now paint color.. hmm..decided against the 2 greens.. too many trees around here to do greens.. red is trim.. so its the brown/tan I think..safe and neutral .. plus it looks good with the red:-)

Brian took a really cool hiking/climbing trip recently to Mount Baring and here are some photos... A little scary to me but he likes it:-). Why people do this I have no idea.. work really hard, get really dirty, sweaty..hmm..doesn't sound like fun to me:-)

Well after a small hiatus, the home improvement has begun again.. woohoo! or not so much woohoo if you ask Brian:-). The last2 months has once again been super busy. I spent 3 weeks doing a "roadshow" with my company.. I've learned not to ever fly United Airlines again..ugh, 4 delayed flights, an almost cancellation with no apology.. yeah I dont' think so. I also realized that SeaTac is probablyy one of the better airports in the west coast.. Anyhow, got back, kicked off reviews..took a quick trip to Vegas with Brian..we unfortunately didn't win..again.. so I had to go back to work..sigh.. went camping too and brought Stanley. I think he had a great time. John, Jessica, Jaime, Kelley, Kevin, Jordan, Brian and I went out to the Enumclaw area and spent 2 days at the Silver Springs camp grounds.. we ate lots of food..lots and lots of marshmallows.. had a good time. Jenny is off to Smith in a week ..sniff snifff..she's all grown up.. oh and Markane is in town.. theres always lots of dinners and poker when Markane is in town.. We also spent a weekend at Uncle Tom's cabin..always a good time.. along with a wedding in Port Townsend...Anyhow back to the housework...we have taken on the major task of redoing our siding..yep, .. I can't believe it..one minute we're talking about it, the next minute John and Brian are tearing a piece of siding off.. What we found under it was the original cedar in a baby blue.. it looked okay and there was hope by Brian of salvaging it but I think thats all gone after opening up the rest of the far side of the house today.. yeah its there.. not so sure its salavageable..makes sense now why they wrapped it in vinyl. There appears to be water damage too..yikes.. So what this means is taking the cedar off as well, looking at the board under that to see what shape its in..do repairs, cover it in a vapor barrier and putting up hardi plank siding..lots of work but it'll be so worth it I think when its done. Personally we are just not big fans of vinyl.. It looks great in some homes but jsut doens't suit this one all that much..not to mention what we found today is that whoever put it up did not do a very good job.. in fact I'll go as far as saying its a pretty "shoddy" job.. I am so nervous aobut this whole project..its HUGE.. probably bigger then the kitchen remodel..so we'll see.. the interior got a lot of love these last 2 years and now its time for the exterior.. the siding is probably about 30+ years old and starting to crack, buckle, us due to all the repair work outside, there are holes, gaps.. so it was time but nevertheless, its just nervewracking to see Brian going up a 24 feet ladder.. we're going to rent scaffolding so hopefully that'll make it safer.. at least it'll make me a little less nervous:-)

Pictures of course to come! hmm.. maybe now is the time for a camera..

My little brother is now a married man! Dang that makes me old..hehe.. still seems a little weird to me for some reason to think that my brother is now married:-)... wedding was on Saturday and it was absolutely beautiful..forcast was 74 and sunny... started the day off at 5:30am..thats right, 5:30am! got up, changed, coffee..got to have coffeee...then down to my mom's house in Seattle to meet up with the rest of the entourage.. 15 of us in 5 cars I think.. oh plus the whole pig and 8 red boxes of jewelry, abalone, mushrooms, candles and a bunch of stuff I can't remember.. headed off to Mill Creek..got there, they wouldn't let us in....the "boys" couldn't get the job done so the "adults" decided to just pick up the pig and 8 boxes and look really pathetic.. the parents "HAVE" to let us in now.. they wouldn't want their future family standing outside holding this heavy pig and boxes now would they;-)..haha.. it worked... got in, did the tea ceremony, ate a bunch of food, got in our cars and headed back to my moms in Seattle.. more tea ceremony - yep I got to drink tea.., more food and we were off to the church.. got there, changed again, tons of photos for the bridal party then the family arrives and even more photos..3pm in the church.. no ifs and or buts says the church lady.. 3:30 wedding.. Stitch ran down the aisle, it was great.. then off to the reception at St. Demetrios.. I cannot believe the transformation of that place.. it was a little bare the night before but when we got there it was breathtaking.. white linens, white chair covers with a lavendar sash..lavendar flowers, candles everywhere.. it was amazing.. but no time to admire..must hit the bar now that the hard part was over:-)..the bridal party thought the same thing:-).. did I already say it was beautiful?? it was... and Jessica and John dedicated a song for Brian and I.. "crazy by aaron neville"..yep our wedding song..seemed like so long ago but this night brought back many memories.. that was about the 10th time I cried that day, hehe.. You guys did a great job and thanks so much for allowing us to be a part of it:-)..
Pictures to come.. there are tons and tons.. can't wait to see Art's photos..he took even more tons then we did.. haha

The happy couple..

Been a busy summer so far.. John and Jessica's wedding is about 3 weeks away and we are all busy bees trying to get ready for this thing.. We had a bridal shower for Jessica at the house and today Jessica threw John a suprise BDay party at our house .. we grilled out, had lots of food and a cold stone creamery ice cream cake.. mmmm...Brian spent the last 2 weeks building a bench seat around our wisteria with Johnny.. they did an awesome job. Just needs some stain and thats it.. I'm on a "roadshow" .. visiting 5 cities in 3 weeks. We hit Phoenix last week and it was great. This week we are in Denver, then SF, then LA. and Seattle is next week as well.. then done! some pictures of the bench seat.. and one of Stanley.. he's all grown up:-) Oh and my first veggies!! Yep, my veggie garden has produced my first batch of chinese "yow choy".. yummy..

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.