Wow, I can't believe Christmas has come and gone.. well as usual it was great. A little pissed about the snow - we had to cancel the usual dimsum due to the roads..it started snowing like crazy up north Christmas morning..thank goodness it stopped by dinner time.. we hung out at home, then Brian went to the airport and picked up his dad and off we went to Cheng Goos for dinner with our more then 20 boxes of gifts! filled up the whole car but overall I'm pretty proud - I think most everyone loved their gifts..or I hope. funny one was Johnny.. i got 2 camera bags from crumpler..one for me and one for him.. I took mine to dinner and thank goodness he liked it so Brian was like oh you can get one through B&H, etc and of course he got one for Xmas..hope its good for his trip to Europe next year.. I got gift cards, 2 tripods! haha.. need to return them unfortuantely.. and a bunch of other stuff.. I got Brian a Garmin which he likes. He knew..dang thought I was pretty lowkey about it.. I got my prime lens too so I'm set..thats all I need for a while till I learn how to use this dang camera..haha.. russian tea cookies I made for Xmas..almost didn't make it since the stupid oven acted up again..
Me new Crumpler "4 Million Dollar Bag".. why they call it that I have no idea...

tree that Brian killed..forgot to water it..oops

Its snowing!! and lots of it.. been snowing for 2 days straight now and I think we have over a foot on the ground..most of it came yesterday from about 4pm on then it started again this morning.. and stil going as I type..crazy is how i would describe this since we hardly get snow in Seattle.. and we all know how excited I get about snow but having been couped up in the house for almost a week and a half now (lifetime for me).. I was hoping to be able to get out this weekend now that I'm well enough to walk.. well we did go out yesterday for a few hours and how nice it was to get out..also got the last the christmas presents done so that was great timing:-). and speaking of that, my recovery I "think" is going well..Doc says takes 6 weeks to recover but after 2 weeks I feel pretty good except for some slight pain still at the stitches and thus walking really slow and my back hurting from walking all hunched over:-).. I need to fix that asap or I'm afraid I'll end up like that after my 6 weeks..hehe..also contemplating cutting my leave from work to 3 weeks instead of 4 and starting to do some work from home after Christmas to ease myself back into things..getting a tad stir crazy staying at home and not working although I know I need it.. well tuesday I go back to the docs (assuming the roads clear) and we'll see how I am doing... some snow pictures brian took

Stanley having a blast in the snow..I think he likes it:-)

well today is the 1 week anniversay of my surgery..so far so good although this has to be the hardest thing I've done and I was NOT mentally prepared for what it was going to be like..thought I would be up and driving by now, etc but I can't even get in and out of a car without help! - well that and the fact that my surgery was turned into major surgery during..long story but in the end it worked out well and recovery is going well.. 1 week and I'm feeling better...up and about and walking..slow but walking.. the only crappy thing is that I haven't been able to do anything for Christmas..and staying at home is driving me crazy:-( we did a lot prior but no way I'm finishing up in time..oye.. next weekend I hope to be able to get out and do some things - with Brian's help of course.. and speaking of that, no way I could have done this without him..he's like a 24x7 nurse! hehe..I'm so lucky..
Oh yeah, camera is here.. the D90 got here last Wednesday but I couldn't even pick it up and still really can't but I'm so very happy about that and can't wait to play with it. Brian took some photos with it and it looks awesome.. I also bought the 50mm 1.8F lens..well John has it ...haha..but we bought another so he can have one too. can't wait till Xmas for another camera lesson.. and for once I really am not checking into work. I thought I wuold be able to but I honestly need the rest..

Thanksgiving was great as usual.. nothing beats a lot of food and family:-). We did the usual dimsum, then dinner at Goo Goos. I made strawberry cheesecake and some mango pudding for the adults.. I didnt' have any of it but it was all gone so I assumed it was good:-). Kit gave us a free camera lesson.. very cool although I wish I had my new camera with me.. should have it in time for the Xmas lesson though. I ordered the camera and lens last night and cannot wait! how exciting.. hehe.. I dont' know how to use it but can't wait to learn. We didnt do black friday.. got the paper and honestly nothing really enticing - quite dissapointing actually.. Maybe its because I knew all I wanted for Xmas was the camera.. no sales on the D90 - as expected.. not to mention after this camera there is no money for anything else..haha..Going to work for a week then on a leave of absence for at least 2 weeks while I get my health taken care of.. starting to get sick of being poked but the nurses are very sweet so can't complain..could be worse:-) Brian says people will think I'm a druggie after I'm done with all these needle marks on my arms...haha..he's so funny..NOT! All I can say is I'm thankful..in this yucky economy we have a home and job, family and friends..we're lucky...

Ying and I are going to the NKOTB concert this Sat!! woohoo! Donnie was the love of my life when I was what 13 years old? haha..now I wish I still had my trapper keeper where i switched out different pics of Donnie every week.. Better start listening to the CD Jessica lent me so I can sing along.. Brian of course thinks this is the funniest thing ever that I'm going to this concert but he's probably just jealous that he didn't get to fulfill his dreams of being in a boy band so poo to him.. Can't wait - Thanks Ying!

oh and on the house front..I finally settled on me new curtains! Trust me this was no small feat.. 2 years later I think I got everything I need now to do what I've always wanted with those darn windows in my house.. double curtain with white sheers and oatmeal linen drapes from Pottery Barn.. yes, PB.. the overpriced store I swore I wouldn't shop at but now I'm looking around the house and its sad..and the horror, I am also now a PB credit card owner..but I get rewards, and specials, and 10% off .. you know how it goes..and 8 panels later it ADDs up FAST! Can't wait to put it all up and get this over with.. and now I can stop the sleepless nights of contemplating..do I buy them, make them, how long, how many, what color, .. ie, I have a problem.. is it not obvious? haha..

More cooking I did last week..although I just heard the McRib is back! haha.. why this post reminded me of the McRib I have no idea.. hehe.. time to go get one I think..

carbonara with pancetta and peas

Baked chicken parmesan..cheesy goodness:-)

Brian and John have been working pretty hard the last couple of weekends finishing up 2 flooring jobs so with not much going on I've been doing some cooking for them. This weekend we tried the meatball lasagna recipe from America's Test Kitchen.. pretty tasty ..a little bit of work with all those tiny grape sized meatballs but worth it..then Sunday I roasted a chicken, some potatoes and lots of spinach - good for ya:-) I even carved the chicken! Martha would be proud haha.. Oh and guess I am upgrading to a the D90 afterall...yep, Johnny is going to take the D60 - at a discount..Merry Xmas dude;-).j/k.. I'm so fickle but then again who knew photography was fun until I bought one of these darn things..hobbies are expensive..oye..roast chicken...I'm a dark meat fan:-) meatballs ready for the oven..I think I made about a hundred of these simmering in sauce..

all ready to eat

Our pumpkin this year:-).. Brians so proud but it is so cool.. wish it lasted longer:-(

I know I say it every year but man the year is just flying!! The days are now cold, dark, and short but I love it anyhow.. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year.. the leaves are turning and it means that the holidays are here! woohoo.. although this economy is kind of putting a damper on things, I'm staying positive that "all is good"..haha..

Not to mention October usually means CONCORD GRAPE season!! Thanks to a tip from my friend Robert, I hit the Korean grocery store and voila they were still there.. I literally count down the days until these arrive each year then they're gone.. only around for a few weeks..boohoo.. fall also puts me in the baking mood so while Brian was helping Ben on Sunday I baked a loaf of banana bread,..not bad.. next time, more sugar, less baking time..


still hitting the gym when I can. In fact, J&J came over on Sat and we all went to the gym which was great because John showed us how to use some of the weight machines that I was so intimidated to touch before.. now I can go and know if I miss a class I can do the machines instead.. I rode the bike, elliptical(didn't like it but I'll give it another try sometime), then some weight machines.. of course after Mom took us to Bluefin and I ate way too much - so much for the calorie burning we did that morning:-). Oh well.. work was crazy busy so I put in some long days.. had a great dinner on Friday with the "girls" at Elliots.. oysters and more oysters..yum! Oh and J&J brought Joey over to visit Sat before last...3 dogs in the house was pretty crazy. I think Stanley really wants a buddy..k, maybe Amy wants another doggie..

umm..Stanley, thats no way to treat our guests!

NO PAIN NO GAIN!!!

I just got home from my first "spin" class or indoor cycling..whatever you call it.. it HURTS!! ahh.. no one told me.. I sweated like a pig and could hardly walk.. the worst part was the seat..oye, 1 hour on that hard uncomfortable bike seat was killer.. but man what a workout. Who knew. I am sold.. joining the new YMCA tomorrow. I used a guest pass today to check it out and I have to say I love it.. bye bye Curves.. the people are so friendly, the classes non intimidating, and best part, its a 5min drive from home to the door.

I love that it doesn't feel like a gym but just a great hangout. You'll find all ages, nationality, fitness levels here and I dont' feel out of place for once in a "gym" :-) It's a little more then your average gym (and to think I always thought the "Y" was cheaper)..but I'm so excited.. the Pool looks awesome and I can't wait to take the swim lessons. Not to mention this place is brand new! just opened 4 days ago and its HUGE - 52,000 sqft.. sauna, climbing wall, raquetball/basketball courts, wifi and more! they also have yoga, pilates and a bunch of other classes! oye, lets hope my excitement continues and I will use it! but for now i"m happy and very sore.. I just hope I can climb those stairs at work tomorrow:-)

I'm cooking again! haha.. coming home from Maui then Vegas, nothing like home cooked meals.. some dinners I cooked recently..
whats easier then a grilled steak...some homemade caesar dressing, good glass of merlot..we were pretty happy:-)


chicken adobo - recipe I found years ago from a sous chef at Canlis.. some ong choy..comfort food
beef stew with fresh green beans..made so much we had to share with J&J

k, now that I've posted on the house I can talk about our trip to Maui:-). It was awesome - calm, warm and relaxing, just like we remembered it. The weather was perfect, 87 and sunny every day, the convertible came in pretty handy for all the driving we did all over the island. We stayed in Makena but made many trips to Lahaina, Pa'ia, Kannapaali, etc... We didn't have a lot planned for this trip aside from the luau at Lahaina, Haleakala and dinner at Mama's Fishhouse but nethertheless, time just flew. Typical day - get up really early since we were on seattle time, get coffee, go to the beach, lay around till about noon or later, go back, clean up and head out to check out a town and grab dinner. I made a list of restaurants I wanted to try and I think we hit just about every one of them..all the fish here was amazing.. in the week here I had ono, opah, monchong, mahi mahi, snapper.. all very good.

On our 2nd day we did the Haleakala crater..left our hotel at 3am to see the sunrise 10,000 ft up. It was about 75degrees when we started and by the time we got up there around 5am it was freezing cold and windy with a slight mist..around 42degrees I think.. too bad there was cloud cover but we still got to witness a pretty amazing sight, watching the clouds and fog clear while the sun rose above.. beautiful... drove down, got some breakfast - spam and eggs haha..then back to the hotel and off to the beach!

The Lahaina luau - it was so much fun and the setting is just amazing.. we also had an awesome dinner the last night before we left at Mama's Fish House..probably the most popular place in Maui but totally worth it..we saved the best for last.. as the hostess walked us in I asked if he had any more tables by the water.. "for you miss, yes"..and he wasnt' joking. not sure how we lucked out but best seat in the house! this place is just amazing. The restaurant itself is on the beach, lots of beautiful palms and flowers, water..we couldn't have asked for better.. the food was oh so good too..all the fish is caught that day by different fishermen who's names are on the menu.. anyhow I could probably go on and on but overall another unforgettable visit to Maui and we cannot wait to go back..time to start saving;-).. Oh and I am going to say it again ..I LOVE my new camera! We took over 400 photos while there...so fun to test it out on all the beautiful flowers, water, sunsets.... too many to post here but some random ones..

beach at our hotel.

so cool! we found him in the hotel courtyard..

Haleakala sunrise at 6:15am, 10000 ft up

at the luau..he's demonstrating how to open a coconut with a sharp stick- you know in case you ever get stranded on an island:-)

luau dancers

Our table at Mama's fish house

Tahitian black pearl dessert at Mama's..almost too pretty to eat..almost

Brian enjoying a cold beer at the Pa'ia Fish Market

pretty feather??/flower..

We are back to the rain and cold ..unfortunately:-) We had an amazing time and while it was hard to come home, we're also glad to be home.. got back really late but we turned into our streeet and could not believe our eyes...our house was all painted and the windows and trim were all so nice and bright.. love it.. we couldn't be happier with the paint job and it was kinda cool to come back to it all nice and done:-)..

Some pictures of our home before and after: Before with the vinyl siding.. looks okay from afar but trust me it wasn't:-)

2 summers later.. new roof , siding, and new paint!!
The back is the best part..so clean and pretty now.

well how fast things change.. hired the roofer after mom did some negotiating:).. told him he was hired yesterday afternoon and they started work today! ugh, I coudnt' sleep all night all worried and thinking what are they going to find under all those old shingles..I'm crazy I know.. it worked out okay because I delayed the painter until this weekend after the roof is done since the scraping of the roof may damage the new paint job so that was good..now they'll come on Sat and clean the house after the roof to get it all ready. Johnny is going to stop by and supervise the work while we're gone.. everything's moving so fast its crazy! Came home today and the roof was all scraped, new tar paper..tomorrow they lay shingles..or I think thats whats happening.

and I got the Nikon D60! its here and how fun!! I dont' know how to use it but its fun to explore with it. I've taken quite a few photos...200 and probably 3 turned out the way I'd like it to..haha.. thank goodness its digital.. be fun to take to Maui...now if I can just wrap up all my todos at work, I'll be good..because I am not checking email or voicemail while I'm gone:-).. can't wait. I've booked us a convertible, a luau, dinner at Mama's, scoped out places to eat and see.. going to try for sunset at Haleakala..

The end is finally in sight!!! and we are happy happy happy.. Hired a painter yesterday thanks to a referral from Anna.. Hope he works out but we are happy to let him paint this house.. ugh. Brian was pretty set on painting it himself on Friday but when he came over Saturday and talked about the powerwashing, then the scraping of paint, the caulking, and then 2 coats..we said, um, yeah we're sold..when can you start..no way we were going to do all that work or have enough summer to finish it.. I think they start work on Wednesday and should be done by Sat which means when we get back from Maui the house will be all painted! woohoo.. now the decision is whether to do a trim color on inside of the windows and to paint the doors. I t hink the answer is yes and we're going with a vintage wine color from Benjamin Moores.. Man their paint is pricey but oh well..how often do you paint your home.. we had to get 10 gals of exterior plus 2 gallons of white trim and nwo another gallon of the red wine..

I also had the roofer stop by and ugh, the quote is coming in about alot more then we expected.. He says our roof is steep which it is but man an extra 2K just for a steep roof? also told us the price of roofing materials went up with the oil and that is unfortunatley true but still.. torn..want to do it this year but man thats a lot of moola too.. guess we spend it this year or its next year .. Boy do we need that vacation..5 more days and we'll be sitting on a beach in 85degree weather in Maui..can't wait!

Is it September already?! Geez.... Just recovering from a long weekend. I didn't do much other then not feel too well but poor Brian:-(.. He tackled the hardest to reach part of our home to replace the siding. The dormer (I think this is what its called) in the back of the house is impossible to get to so I spent the weekend freaking out while Brian did all sorts of weird acrobatics with the ladder to get to it.. Brian threw the extension ladder (with the metal bars) over the roofline to reach it - great idea but just scary looking. .. eek! I couldn't watch but I couldnt' stay in the house either and of course no way was I leaving him at alone with that going on.. ahh....one more weekend and he'll be done.. thank goodness.. Aside from that, we had dinner with J&J at Jak's after John came over and helped out on Sunday.. Monday was labor day and a very last minute BBQ turned out to be pretty nice.. had some of the family over..the weather all weekend was icky.. very cold for this time of the year but gave us a chance to break out the firepit which was great..not sure what it is but an open fire is so relaxing and naturally gets everyone chatting..we also made smores:-) love it. Thanks again to Judy and Dan..

oh and some food photos.. made a blueberry galette with all those berries I picked from the farm.. yummy.. hot out of the oven with some vanilla ice cream. And some of my special bitter melon .. yep bitter melon.. one of those love or hate food items. I happen to love it and so does John so gave him some too.. :-).. Next weekend we are wrapping up the siding, calling the painters cuz poor Brian needs a break, then getting ready for Maui! We leave in 10 days..woohoo..can't wait to get some sun!

firepit in use for the first time..so awesome...

we found shingles under the vinyl..we were hopeful it would be salvageable but no luck :-(
scary.. can't watch..
pretty with the new siding:-)
blueberry galette..ready to go into the oven
Yummy.. looks just like the picture in the recipe..berry juices leaked but aside from that, awesome.. cheated and used a ready made piecrust..didnt' matter, still yummy
ahh.. comfort food..a pot of bitter melon with spareribs.. Mom would be so proud..haha..Brian on the other hand thinks its so weird I eat this stuff.. poo to him!