Happy Holidaze 2015

This holiday season has truly been a daze!

I spent Thanksgiving in Seoul, after exploring Hong Kong for a week, and am so thankful to have the financial stability to travel as well as the great company to travel with. Our Asia group was mostly awesome, especially because we got to piggy back on Nan's food research/plans in HK. The most intense night of eating of my life was probably our dinner food tour with Nan's cousin. GEEZ! They sure do know how to eat! And catching up with Greta was fantastic, as she took us to some of our favorite Chinese meals. In Hong Kong we stayed on Park Island, and I really loved the area. Life on the BEACH but near the city - a dream for me. We rode the MTR a lot, and even though I don't like public transportation... I have to admit that it was very clean and convenient. One of my fave destinations in HK was the Wong Tai Sin temple where I got my fortune read!  I mean, we even went to Macau and karoke'ed in HK... it was really my ideal trip. 

Korea was much colder, but we ALWAYS had grapefruit soju to warm us up. The food in Seoul was also really delicious, and the shopping was overwhelming at times. Most of our meals were KBBQ, but all of the KBBQ was really tasty so I didn't mind at all. The street food was such a treat, especially because we stayed at a hotel in Myeong-Dong within walking distance to the vendor strip. We also had ginseng chicken and black sesame honey tea (both of which I've never had before) with Charles' cousins, and they were so nice! Can't wait to see them again in Spring for the wedding. I brought back a few Korean beauty products that I really like, and wish I had purchased more! 

Since coming back from Asia, we hosted an Ugly Christmas Sweater/White Elephant party, as well as a Holiday Turn-up at Tia Lou. We also saw Beauty and the Beast at the Paramount with Vic and Christina! 

On Christmas Eve, I attended mass with Matt's family, and then enjoyed a delightful family dinner at Matt's sister house. I made frosted donut holes for dessert, with the cake pop maker secret santa gift from Alom. They took forever but were pretty good, if I may say so myself. =) We even brought Forrest, and he had so much fun with the nephews! 

When we got home, we opened our gifts and I got a MAGIC MIC FOR CHRISTMAS!!! I stayed up until 4 AM singing, and now I am having a very, very lazy Christmas Day. WHEW! 

Halloween 2015

This year's Halloween was ... pretty spooktacular!

Seeing as this is our first Halloween in a house, we decided to get much larger pumpkins than usual. You know, the kind that I can't even lift on my own. HAHA. But OMG we didn't account for how much thicker the pumpkins would be and the additional pulp that would need to be removed. 

In fact, the pumpkins were so big, that JR broke the big serrated spoon that we had. It was pouring outside, so we made a deal - Lorraine and I would go to Target to get more tools, and the guys would clean out our pumpkins! Lorraine found a really cute pizza costume, and I found Forrest a hot dog costume. It fit him PERFECTLY. We also got pumpkin Oreos and pumpkin cheesecake cookies. YUMMY. Our pumpkin carving was a success! And wine followed. 

On Halloween, we went to BJ's house party. I haven't been to a legit house party in sooo long; I'm really glad they hosted it. And their house was pretty big! The theme was 90s, and a lot of people had appropriate costumes. I was surprised that there were THREE tamagotchi costumes! And one guy was Windows 95. Lots of overalls, but I think I nailed the look. I was laughing to myself the entire time I was twisting my hair and applying brown lip liner (it took ridiculously long). I got a lot of compliments on the lip liner for sure, and the butterfly clips. Like middle school all over again!! And of course, everyone loved Forrest. He stole pizza, again! This time from Sarah's hand as she bent over. Oy vey. 

When we got home, we checked the candy bucket that was left outside for trick-or-treaters. AND IT WAS GONE. Someone took our whole candy bucket!!!! Rude. Now I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't have ordered a wreath. After my disappearing Costco order and now the stolen Halloween bucket, I'll be so mad if they take the wreath!

Cabin weekend at Lake Cushman

Since I missed last year's trip to J's cabin, I've been looking forward to this year's trip for MONTHS. Forrest and I left for Lake Cushman on Saturday morning, and I was totally freaking out about getting lost. Because I knew there wouldn't be any cell reception at the cabin, I wasn't sure if I'd have GPS reception and I really, really didn't want to get lost while driving alone. I printed the directions, highlighted the important parts, and memorized the key actions. Good thing I did, because driving on the winding roads and reading directions at the same time might have been really bad. I felt like I was going back to the 00s - when we used Mapquest printouts, considered car GPS units as still new and exciting, and relied on CDs for music when radio went out (because we couldn't stream music from our basic ass Nokias, LOL).

We finally arrived shortly after noon, at J's super cute a-frame cabin. It reminded me of a smaller version of cabins I've stayed at in Tahoe, and the drive actually wasn't so bad. I loved that they don't have TV or Wi-Fi or cell reception, because I so rarely am "off the grid" that I sometimes forget what it feels like. What a relief it is to be disconnected! Not long after I settled in, I walked down to the lake with M, J, and D. Mia, Marley, and Forrest came too, and we played along the water on the naked shore of the once-floating dock. I was so glad that Forrest, Mia, and Marley got along immediately. Instant buds! 

The sun even unexpectedly came out! We later returned to the cabin when we finished our drinks. Time flew by quickly as we drank, ate J's delicious kimchi soup for lunch, drank some more, enjoyed a cheese and salami tray, drank some more, played Pictionary, sat down for a lovely pork loin dinner (with fresh mashed potatoes and roasted apples/onions), drank some more, and played Scattergories. PHEW! The dogs had as much fun as we did, and before I knew it I was waking up to Forrest barking in the early AM on Sunday morning. He got to sleep in a bed with me for the first time! And he spent most of the time off leash, exploring the woods around the cabin. =) 

They even had a RECORD PLAYER! And they let me choose one (based on cover, because I don't really know very many artists in their collection... and the Michael Jackson one was 'banned'). I actually really enjoyed my pick! The cabin was so full of character, and it felt both homey and cozy while providing more than everything that you'd need for a getaway! I'd love to have a cabin, but I don't think I could deal with the upkeep (or the bugs). 

The drive back was pretty painless, and Forrest was absolutely pooped. We had so much fun, I can't wait for the next group trip!! 

The-Dream & Oktoberfest at Leavenworth

One of my favorite R&B artists, The-Dream, came to the Crocodile on a Wednesday night and the concert was SO GOOD! He opened for Hudson Mohawke... but now that we no longer live in Belltown, it was getting too late on a weeknight to stay out and see the main act. But anyways, OMG! So, The-Dream had some suh-weet dance moves and his voice was just as amazing live as on tracks. He did all of his classic songs that I was looking forward to, EXCEPT for Love King! Booooooooo. But that was the only disappointment for his show. We even had to wait an extra 45 mins for him to come on, but it was all worth it in the end.

For the weekend, we rented a cabin in Leavenworth during Oktoberfest! Everyone arrived at different times on Friday night, and we stayed in to do games, PJs, and family dinner. We ended up with lots of junk and frozen food, LOL. For games, we started off with Guesstures and then played Telestrations. SO FUN! Friday night flew by quickly, and then Saturday we headed downtown for Oktoberfest. We reserved a private shuttle to/from the event and it was a FANTASTIC idea because we didn't have to worry about parking or getting DUIs.

Leavenworth is such an adorable town! I felt like I was walking down the streets of Beauty and the Beast, and I could run into Gaston at any of the beer halls. The official event was smaller than I expected, but was a really interesting experience. The brats and turkey legs were so delicious, and I enjoyed the lively live music in the tents. We explored the streets of Leavenworth outside of the official event and checked out some shops. Eventually, we re-entered the event to get some more beers, and headed back to the cabin early. Everyone was so tired from Oktoberfest that only a few of us were still awake at 10 PM. SO LAME! I stayed up past midnight because I couldn't sleep, and I wished everyone else had stayed awake for our last night. Oh well.

The cabin trip was perfect, and I definitely want to plan a repeat trip to Leavenworth! However, now that I've experienced Oktoberfest, I'm not dying to go back for the official event. We waited in line a lot, and it was pretty crowded in most areas. Maybe we can go on an off-week and still get the seasonal beers at local bars, without the crowds. Regardless, I'm still so glad that I finally went!

Corinna's wedding + mini high school reunions

On Friday evening, I had dinner with Anita, Cindy, Kanomi, Lauren, Lisa, and Anna - most of my closest girl friends from high school. Aside from catching up with Anna and Lisa over brunch, and running into the others at weddings, I haven't seen much else of them! Witnessing Kanomi, Lauren, and Cindy as mothers was wonderful and eye-opening, and it really hit home that most of us are in that next phase of life (married or kids, or both). It's hard to catch up on ten years of life, but I'm so glad that we had dinner. Kanomi suggested that we get a private room reservation, and the Izakaya Kou tatami room did a pretty good job of containing the children… and hopefully muffling some of the screaming. LOL. We parted ways after dinner, and I met up with Andy, Matt, and Alom at Andy's place. We headed to the Castro, to meet up with Charles and Angie. It was a crazy night at Beaux, and Matt's first time in the 'stro - and WHAT a first night it was. After clubbing, we stopped by Brian's place to hang out with the Cotopaxi participants, and the craziness continued. A night out in the Castro always means a painful morning to follow.

I look forward to weddings, because I love to witness the happy moments. Corinna's wedding happens to be especially meaningful to me, not only because she was one of my close friends in high school, but also because I was still close to her at the very beginning of her relationship with Jon! Nancy was my hot date for the wedding, and I couldn't have asked for a better one. We had SO MUCH fun catching up and she had me cracking up all day and all night. Corinna's ceremony, venue, and outfits, were all flawless. The weather in San Rafael was perfect for the outdoor ceremony, and it ran like clockwork. Even Corinna's dog walked down the aisle - it was the CUTEST thing watching Race drag the little kid around. From Corinna in her stunning dress, to the details on the flower petal bags, and the lush greenery, it was absolutely picture perfect.

After cocktail hour, we moved indoors for the reception. The hall was HUGE and well-lit with wonderful floral pieces (which we later found out were arranged by Nixon!). The party favors were Asian snacks and adorable fun fact cards with all different statements about the bride and groom. The ONE TIME I didn't order the steak at a wedding, it was actually decent. I did enjoy my mushroom ravioli, though, so I wasn't disappointed. I loved that Corinna and Jon asked for volunteers to demonstrate kisses for the crowd, and that they then duplicated the kisses in an adorably mocking way. What a great idea! The reception flew by as fast as the ceremony did, and before I knew it we were dancing with Corinna to some awesome throwbacks. We actually stayed after everyone else had left, and spent some more time with Corinna before heading to karaoke.

We got back to the city after midnight, and Amy, Nancy, Drew, and I went to DO RE MI. LOL. Regina met us up there too, and I think we were karoke-ing for 3+ hours. It was so fun that I don't even know where the time went! We even ran into Kirby there, and he sang with us too. I thought about how great it would be to move home, and every weekend could be as awesome. And then Sunday morning rolled up on me and I re-thought, boy I'd be hungover every weekend if I moved back. HAHA. Growing up in the city was rough at times, but as I look back at my formative years I appreciate every person and every experience more than ever. I had some really good times, with amazing people that still invite me to their weddings after 5+ years of not seeing each other. That is really something special. And during dinner, Nancy recalled that her most vivid memory of me was when Danny was getting ready to defend me (which I can hardly remember the details of). Through the night, a few other people mentioned Danny too, and it reminded me of how much I regret not attending his funeral. Even though we ended up having our differences later in life, he really was so very dear to me those first years in high school. Had I been a more mature person, I'd have known better than to miss it. That's one regret I'll never be able to shake. 

On Sunday we hung out with everyone at Dolores Park for Lisha's birthday. Lots of people came out and I tried to be as social as possible even though I was exhausted and hungover. I think the best part was when we sang happy birthday to her in the middle of the park, in front of a gazillion strangers. How cool! I don't know if anyone got that moment on video, but I hope someone did. Before we flew out, we watched Babadook with Andy. O, M, G, creeeeeeeee-pyyyyy.

Literary relief

The past few weeks at work have been stressful, exciting, and sometimes overwhelming. With regular day-to-day tasks, intense project work, meetings, and a few curve balls, I've pushed myself to find balance by exercising more and reading. The work gym finally set up the ExpressoHD machines properly, so I've been really enjoying my evening bicycle rides.

I stayed home with Forrest over Labor Day weekend to catch up on TV, eat healthy food, and most importantly... sleep to my heart's content. I've also just finished Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. Chelsie recommended it to me when we were on doing our regular hikes over the summer, and I'm so glad that I finally got around to reading it. I found some moments in Cheryl's story to be really bizarre and disturbing, but overall I appreciated how brutally honest she was in sharing the raw moments of her adventures. I can tell how close I felt to the author because I use her first name (as if I know her, HAHA).

The weather is cooling down, and football season has begun. My fantasy league collapsed at the last minute, so I don't have any interest in watching football this season. Maybe it was meant to be, because now I have time to watch some hockey! Although, I must admit, I am pretty disappointed that I don't have a league.

I signed up for a couple of short writing classes this semester, because I'm afraid that I won't be able to juggle the craziness at work with the stress of school/homework. Especially with our HK/Korea trip coming up in a few months! I think I can focus on school more next semester, and still be on track.

But I do have an exciting update! I finally requested a standing desk at work, and they installed a really awesome power-adjustable desk that has an LED silicone lever thing. I also upgraded to a Herman Miller chair. WHY DIDN'T I ASK SOONER!? :)

Nan, Wiz/Fall Out Boy, and Mount Rainier

The past three weeks have flown by! Typical summer speed. Nan came to visit, and we ate lots and drank a fair amount - as expected. It was a short weekend trip, but we managed to squeeze in some good eats and a seafood bake before she left. Shrimp, crab, corn, and Korean goodies!

We also saw Wiz Khalifa and Fall Out Boy at the White River Amphitheatre that same weekend. Both sets were SO GOOD, and they even did two songs together. I went more for Fall Out Boy, and the guys only wanted to see Wiz; I ended up loving Wiz's stage presence just as much. And when Fall Out Boy did "Dance, Dance' and 'This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race,' I felt 19 again!!!!!!! I ended up buying one concert t-shirt for each performer. I had so much fun!

Work has been really busy, and I'm working on a few projects that are really stressful but exciting. They're totally worth the stress because these projects will directly impact my team (and work processes) in the long run. I'm hoping to take more classes in Fall, but I guess we'll see how my schedule looks in a couple of weeks. I attended the PSBJ Washington's Best Workplaces event at Safeco field last week, and had a blast. As cheesy as it sounds, I still feel so lucky to be loving my job and my company.

It's been at least a few weeks since the last nature adventure, but today we hiked Mount Rainier with Nick and Fei. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed in state parks. The Fremont trail was really easy, but a good workout nonetheless. We also got some great views! And I've always wanted to explore Mount Rainier. =)

On the way up! 

WE SAW A MARMOT. 

Forrest and Mandy do Rachel Lake Trail

Unlike our regular (and local) 4-mile hikes, Rachel Lake is an "intermediate" rated 8+ mile hike just past Snoqualmie Pass. And boy, it sure was challenging.

The first 2 miles were what I was expecting for an "intermediate" hike. We breezed through the first half of the incline, with our group of 10, and only stopped twice for photos. The second 2 miles of the incline were treacherous and steep! The giant rocks, slippery stream crossings, and intimidating tree roots in constant succession were difficult for me. Although, the others who are actually in shape fared better... of course.

At the end of the ascent, we relaxed at Rachel Lake, which I had assumed would be at the bottom of the mountain. No, it's between 2 mountain peaks! And it's beautiful, with refreshing icy water to dip your tootsies in. It felt SO NICE to get those hiking boots off for a while. During our break, Forrest befriended and cuddled up with a nice man who had a beach towel. These dogs ain't loyal!

After enjoying the scenery, we headed back down the mountain. The first half of the descent was ROUGH. More rough than ascending, methinks! I stepped gingerly through the trail, low and slow, and I was especially careful because Forrest was pulling me downhill. It was stressful scanning between my footing, the high brush whipping my face, and the leash to make sure that Forrest had enough slack or support when he made his own calculated leaps. By the time we got to the second half of the ascent, I was so relieved to not be going downhill anymore. But our exhausted legs still had 2 more miles to go. I felt like it was never going to end. Matt, Forrest, and I finished our 3 bottles of water shortly after we had begun descending. The summer mid-afternoon sun was beating down on us.

This is, by far, the most difficult hike that Forrest has experienced, and toward the end he literally gave up. He normally pulls for the duration of our hikes, and can't contain himself. Today, toward the end, he didn't want to lead anymore. As I was walking, I felt a strong resistance from the leash, and when I turned around Forrest had turned on his side and was being dragged on the gravel. POOR FORREST! After some encouraging words, he was on his feet again to finish the hike. I was elated when we finally reached the parking lot! The first half of the group had finished ~30 minutes before us, and were waiting with the cars running and A/C on full blast. LOL. Matt and I finished about 10 minutes before the last of us.

On the way home, we stopped for refreshing beverages and ended up getting Icees from Burger King for FREE! Best way to end a hike. The dogs were both pooped, and Matt, Chelsie, and I were tired too.. until we got the Icees!

Pretty sure I shouldn't do any more intermediate+ hikes until I start working out regularly. Even though today was fun and challenging, I'm mostly happy that I didn't hurt myself. I must say, though, that the struggle was worth it for the occasion. We had a good group of people, gorgeous weather, and amazing PNW terrain. Can't complain about that!

Wicked the musical, at the Paramount!

I've wanted to see Wicked for years, but every time I checked showtimes it was either sold out or no one was interested in joining me (because they'd already seen it). This week, somehow the stars aligned, and Christina ended up with extra tickets to see Wicked at the Paramount!

And they weren't just any tickets. They were VIP entrance, with access to the private lounge, and balcony seats that were front and center. Christina's brother had been on a waiting list for a year to get those tickets, and I was ECSTATIC that they thought to ask us!

We met up near the VIP entrance and took a few photos with the Wicked truck. And then we headed into the private lounge where we enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and a round of drinks. When we arrived at our seats, I was so impressed by the view. I don't think seats get any better than that at the Paramount.

The first act was phenomenal, enthralling, and captivating from beginning to end. I was almost in tears by the end of the defying gravity scene! I loved the jokes, and I really loved Galinda's character. It was very Mean Girls at first, and then became a bit Hunger Games (the Emerald City reminded me of the Capitol), and throughout the musical I was reminded of Legally Blonde. At intermission, I was a ball of adrenaline and I even thought to myself... I'd LOVE to be in a musical! The singing, the dancing, the costumes, and energy. The perfect timing and props!

We got another round of drinks, this time in sippy cups, so that we could enjoy them at our seats. Luckily, we had access to the private bathrooms, because the line at the general restroom was horrendous. The second act was almost as amazing as the first, and I was at the edge of my seat for every minute. Prior to seeing Wicked, I had only a very vague idea of the plot. I really appreciated the angle that it took on the traditional Wizard of Oz events, and I think the musical was REALLY well done.

I am so happy we got to go. I love Wicked! I had goosebumps because it was THAT good. <3

July 4th weekend low-carB-BQ!

After returning from Carmel, and having a stressful work week, I couldn't agree with Matt more when he suggested that we stay home for the 4th instead of going to Spokane. One huge benefit of staying home was having air conditioning... BUT THEN the A/C went out late Thursday night. And of course all of the businesses were on holiday on Friday. WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH. 

Matt smoked a pork butt from 9 PM to 4 AM. And it was so delicious on Saturday! We invited the dog regulars over, and a few other people showed up. We had a low-carB-BQ! Chicken heart skewers with red onion, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Pulled pork tacos. Grilled corn! Sarah and Sean brought the most adorable balled and carved watermelon, with a really delicious cheese plate and crackers. Chelsie brought a pasta and veggie salad (so perfect for the heat A/C-less temps) and these strawberry cheesecake treats. SO GOOD! Other people brought snackety snacks, and we ended up with plenty of food! 

We spent the day bbqing, chatting, eating, and hiding in the backyard shade. The dogs were entertaining as always, and daylight slipped away before we knew it. When the mosquitoes came out in full force, and we realized that the tiki torches weren't cutting it, we moved the party to the front of the house to watch the neighbors set off fireworks. 

Someone brought sparklers and people were playing with those. We spent a good amount of time just sprawled out on the driveway, wasted, with music blaring from Eric's over-sized pickup truck. And, it was, amazing. I'd never imagined how much fun it would be to just relax, on cement, for a hot summer night. With wine and beer galore, just out in the open, in our suburban neighborhood. I don't think I've ever felt so American! We played some drinking games when we went back into the house, but people started dropping like flies. Too much fun!! 

On Sunday, Sean and Sarah came over to do the spicy Korean noodle challenge! Wilson came over with Blizzard, and brought Korean spare ribs. Now that I think about it, we had a very Korean Sunday, LOL. Sarah and I cooked up the noodles the best way we knew how, making them with broth, and then when we started the challenge we realized that the noodles weren't very spicy at all. Upon a closer examination of the package, we realized that we were supposed to cook them dry so they would be coasted in a paste instead of a broth. NooOOOooOOOooo. We'll have to do it again! Too bad we couldn't read the Korean, though. Charles was so useless. We sent him a picture of text, and he replied with "the last four words are 'did you know?'" .... HAHAHAHAHA. 

And we caught Forrest rolling a frog into the ground. Last time we caught him, it was a snail. YUCK!

 

The T-Wick Wedding

The long-awaited and much-anticipated wedding of C+T finally arrived! And if there ever was a whirlwind of a wedding... THIS WAS IT!

The Holly Farm in Carmel was ab-so-lute-ly gorgeous. I was thinking it would be a rustic, drought-stricken farm (LOL), but it was actually much more like a lush jungle. Very Jurassic Park-esque.

The Seattle people arrived late to the celebrations, and missed the Thursday BBQ (as well as the bubble soccer early Friday). WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. We flew into SJC on Friday at noon, happened to lunch at Chez Sovan becuase of a last minute rec from Alan. HOLY moly, the amok (fish wrapped in leaves) was so tasty! We actually showed up after they had closed for the day, which was my bad because I didn't check the hours, but the owner was SO nice he seated and served us anyway. We ended up getting to chat with him and he was super friendly with tons of jokes. Such a treat.

The drive to Monterey wasn't bad, but the traffic after we had settled in to our hotel was. So we stayed at our hotels until dinner, and met up to dine Nan for her belated. The food at Jeninni Kitchen & Wine Bar was hit or miss. I did love the eggplant fries, a whole lot. I didn't love the steak. And their customized cocktails made with wine (but tastes like classic liquor mixes) were really good. The Mule. MHM! After dinner, we headed to the farm where I was so happy to see everyone!

I spent more time catching up with people than getting trashed -- thank goodness I stayed sober enough to drive back to the hotel! Running around on the farm, at night, in the darkness, and getting lost between sections, was pretty exciting. The farm is a crazy cool wedding venue. And EVERYONE was there! The first night was my favorite night, even though it was probably the shortest night.

On Saturday morning, Matt was hungober, and I got up late... as usual. We got dressed and headed into town to get some coffee. I wanted a quick manicure, but I was out of luck - no last min walk-ins! When we got to the farm, we had some beers and hung out while Nan curled my hair. We eventually got seated for the ceremony, where C+T married under a gigantic mystical tree. It was so Fern Gully! Gary was a great officiator, and T looked so freaking happy. I cried, of course -- I couldn't not.

We gathered for photos with groups, with friends, and even had an aeriel drone shot. Go technology!

Cocktail hour was AMAZING with a wide variety of hors deourves. Lots more photos and chatting, and so much merrymaking.

At dinner, our table was the last to be called. And by the time we were called, I wasn't even hungry anymore. I ate some mac 'n cheese and a few roasted veggies. but that was about it.

And then after dinner and the heartfelt speeches, came the dancing!

And after the dancing, and before more dancing, came the DESSERT!!!! Ice cream and waffles and topping and OMG. That was my favorite food of the wedding.. HAHAHA. Saturday was a long day, but it was so much fun. A gazillion awesome pictures were taken and happy moments were made. C+T looked ecstatic. And relieved actually, as the night wound down.

On Sunday, we checked out of our hotel and went to Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Santa Cruz. Freaking Charles asked Nan to get Thai food, which took like 40 mins (instead of just agreeing with sandwiches which take ten minutes tops LOL). The beer that I sampled from people, was ok. I didn't drink because of the long drive ahead. I didn't want to stop every 30 minutes.

When we got back to the city, we ended up just getting ready at Nan's because we had our luggage anyway. Nan did mah hair again! Off to SSF we went, to Grand Palace which was not grand at all. Not one bit. The dishes were so dirty. The employees weren't nice. BUT THE LION DANCERS WERE SO COOL!! And they played the 'who is more _____' game where the couple sat back to back, which is always interesting. They did really well, which isn't surprising! I also got to see Andy's sister's baby. Such a cutie. And Andy's mom, who I haven't seen in at least four years! And then, after the dinners many courses, there were sesame balls for dessert. YES!!!!!! Way better than red bean soup!

And the dancing. Oh the dancing. People got a little wild, Chad's dad was tearing up the dance floor. So were many others. It was exciting! I wish more people had stayed to dance, but I suppose it was a Sunday night.

People cleared out early, and we went to In 'n Out to get some more food. It felt like old times!! I used to go to In 'n Our and Carl's JR. in Daly City all the time... when I had better metabolism. HAHA. We went back to Nan's place and hung out for a while longer.

Monday flew by so quickly. Matt and I got ready, picked up lunch at Cafe Darwin (per Nan's rec, and what a great rec), and then picked up my mom from work. She and I ate at home while Matt went shopping with Charles and Alom. I was worried about  my mom, that she's getting older and her health is deterioriating; however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that she's doing just fine. We gossiped about my friends and her current language student. It was not as long of a lunch as I wanted, but she had to go back to work for a meeting. It was so nice though!

When we were taking hte AirTrain to the terminal at SFO, after dropping off the rental car, the train door closed on me. I was like in the door, and it closed. DO THEY NOT HAVE SENSORS. And Charles laughed at me. BOO!!!!!! If he had walked FASTER then I wouldn't been in the door on time. Luckily I jumped into the next door that was just closing. So stressful.

What a great trip, and to see everyone together and have a nice long weekend with them... I couldn't ask for me. I thought Kay was the happiest bride I've ever seen, but I think T rivaled her.

See?