SCTA Banquet

Last weekend we went to the annual SCTA Banquet honoring all the drivers' achievements for the 2008 season.  The Rod Riders did great!  Dave, Chris, and Bob all got inducted in the Dirty Two club for going over 200 mph at El Mirage.  Don presented the Wheels of Fame award to his father for all the wonderful work and success that he's accomplished in racing.  Doug and Miriam were each in the Top 10 for points (6th and 10th place, respectively).  What a great rookie year for Miriam!  The whole awards presentation was a bit long... but lucky for us, there was a bar to keep us entertained!  I think Bob enjoyed it the most!  Click here to see more pics!

Random amusement from the President

As we await the CHANGE promised by the new President, we already get one piece of enjoyment resulting from his campaign:  Obamicon.  Paste Magazine has a fun little website where you can create your own Obamicon using your webcam or uploading your own picture.  It allows you to adjust the levels of the the four colors available to create whatever desired affect.  I created the above Obamicon in honor of my sweet kitty, Vash.  Doesn't she look ecstatic?  Here are a few of my favorites created by others.  To create your own, go to ObamiconMe and have fun!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

This Chinese New Year is the Year of the Ox!!  Steady, stable... stubborn.  Hehe.  We had our family celebration on Sunday evening and once again gorged on delicious food.  We had two sushi platters, chicken adobo, roast pork, mushroooms with pork, sticky rice and Dave's super moist carrot cake.  For the first time, Dave and I had to hand out Lai See.  Since we only had six people we had to give to, I made the little red envelopes for each person.  They turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!  You can see more pics here.

Disneyland with Miki & John

Yesterday we went to Disneyland with Miki and John.  We thought it would be busy because of the long weekend, but we only waited 15 minutes at most for each ride!  Woohoo!  We almost didn't make Space Mountain because they shut down during our Fast Pass time.  Bleh!  But we came back later and it was all good!  We pretty much went on everything else of importance except for Nemo because the line was about an hour long.  Indiana Jones was awesome, as usual!  That's why it's my favorite!  We got soaked on Splash Mountain... really... I got seriously drenched!  Pirates of the Carribean was super fun, but Haunted Mansion was closed.  We went on the Matterhorn and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and we did two other things that I haven't done in almost 20 years.  We went to Tom Sawyer's Island and rode the Teacups!  The Teacups were pretty interesting.  Try getting four full sized adults crammed into that little space below the wheel!  And then the boys decided to try and spin us as fast as they could!  Oh yeah... this was right before dinner!  Speaking of dinner, we finished off the day with a wonderful meal at the Jazz Kitchen topped off with Double Chocolate Bread Pudding!!  Drooollll!  Check out more pics here.

Our friend Chika came for a visit from Japan.  To celebrate, a bunch of us went out last night and had a blast drinking and singing Karaoke at the FuzzyNest.  Thanks, Sandy for hosting!!  When I came back this afternoon, this is what I found waiting for me at home!  The kids that did it, took advantage of our newly trimmed tree and and really got the TP eeeeverywhere!  Poor Dave had to clean it up after just driving back from Vegas for CES.

Santa in Torrance!

We must have been really good in our neighborhood because Santa came early! I was watching TV with the kitties when I heard Christmas music blasting over a PA outside. Then a voice said, "Come on outside! Santa will be here in a few minutes!" So of course I threw on some flip flops and ran outside... in my PJs! After a few minutes of standing on the corner with the neighbors, a squad car came around the block followed by a truck pulling a float with Santa!! Check out a few more pictures here.

Our Hannukuh Bush

Instead of braving the crazy Black Friday crowds we decided to limit our early morning shopping to the search of an artificial tree. Yeah... I'm allergic to real ones. Lucky for us Dave found a pre-lit LED tree for $50 at Home Depot. So we got ourselves up at 5am and got to Home Depot by 5:30 for the 6am opening... but it was already open! The one by our house opened at 5am! They had trees, but they only had the one with multi-colored lights. We bought one anyway and decided to try the Home Depot in Carson. We had to wait a few minutes in line outside since this one actually opened at 6am but when they did, we went straight to the trees and found one in the white lights. Yay! Dave also got a multi-position Gorilla ladder. Woohoo! So after 45 min, two Home Depots, and one return trip, we ended up with the awesome 7.5 foot tree you see here. We're looking forward to collecting more ornaments through the years and since it's LED, it's energy efficient!

All Done!

So it finally happened. Noooo... not me finally updating my blog. Well... okay... that, too. But the real news is that Dave and I had our wedding and honeymoon and we are loving life together. We recently bought a house in Torrance so that's keeping us pretty busy. It's definitely a fixer-upper, but we sooo excited to have it! Pictures from the wedding ceremony are here. The reception will be following soon. I just have to pick from about 300 other photos! I think there were 980+ overall. I will have honeymoon pictures up soon, too. We had a wonderful time on our cruise from Rome to Athens. We were on Oceania Cruiselines on the Nautica.

Hannibal rabbit face

I got something in my contact lens today so I had to ask Ana for some contact lens solution. I laughed because I remembered how on other occasions she used to toss me the solution, knowing (maybe not remembering) that I only had one lens in. The she brought up the time I tossed it back to her... and hit her in the mouth. The above picture is the result with an ice pack on Ana's mouth... yes... taped with gaffer's tape. Note the kitty face that turned into a rabbit face.

hehe... can I actually catch up all in one post?

I think this post is mostly for documentation purposes since I've been such a lagger in posting. Here's what's been going on:

1. Dave and I are engaged! The wedding is next month in August and we're working our butts off to get ready.
2. Andy and Belinda had their baby boy Logan on July 3rd. He was 8 lbs 2oz and everybody is happy and healthy.
3. Dave and I bought a house in Torrance. Woohoo! It's a bit of a fixer-upper but I'm so lucky that Dave has been around construction his whole life. We'll be able to make it what we want!

I think that's all the big stuff. I'll leave it at that for now. Details to follow on all the wedding planning and house renovations.

4th of July

We went the Annual 4th of July Block Party at my Aunt Sheila's house and this year I invited Ana to come. She brought Marco, Rose and some yummy pies. It was really great to hang out with the family doing our favorite thing: EATING!! Annie and Sir brought creme brulee and a heavenly Dulce de Leche Angel Food Cake roll. It totally melted in your mouth. Dave and I made a light lemony-lime cucumber honey mint water in the hopes it would be refreshing on the hot day. I think other people liked it as much as I did... but maybe it needed more honey. Ana was gracious enough to take pictures and share... as if she would do anything else! Check out the pics here.

heh

So I finally got a new computer. What happened to the old one? Well... I sent it back to HP... twice. By the time it came back the second time, they had replaced the wifi, the harddrive, the motherboard... you name it, they replaced it. So basically I had a refurbished computer... and I am sooo not into refurb junk... especially if I paid for a brand new machine. Thank goodness for Costco's 90 day return policy. When I returned it on day 88 of 90, they kind of looked at me a little funny until I told them that I had sent it back twice, blah, blah, blah. So they gave me my money back. Unfortunately they don't put it back onto your credit card and I didn't want an $1100 gift card. Soooo... I walked out with the cash. Tee hee... Anyway, here's my new puter.
Actually, the image for the Product (Red) version, which I didn't get. It's the XPS M1330 and mine is red, but it's not the Product (Red) that gives money to AIDs research in Africa, although it still looks pretty much the same. They weren't offering the Product (Red) when I bought mine, but I got a pretty nice deal on it. Stay tuned to catch up with everything that's going on!!

Spy Kitties

So I came across these pictures today.
Kitties are soooo nosy!!

Me and Rob

Ben invited me to a meet and greet for the L.A. Kings at Hollywood Park. The area was cordoned off for the event and they had free nachos, hotdogs, soda, water, and hot chocolate for us. Yay! They had queues set up set up for different players and I immediately got into line for Rob Blake. After a 15 year affair in my head, I finally got to meet my favorite player! It took me about 45 minutes to get to the front, but eventually I got there. Yeah, he's got the Big Bird nose, but the blues eyes and crooked smile still made me flustered. And did I mention that I had thing for nice arms? **sigh** I told him that he's been my favorite player since he started with the Kings. He thanked me and assented to signing my hat with the baby blue pen. Then it was time to take the picture. I noticed that everyone else taking a picture with the players didn't get much closer than maybe an arm around the shoulder. Not me. I waited almost 15 years for this so I got right up close and snuggled into the side of his neck. He only looks "slightly" uncomfortable. Tee hee. Looking back, I should have just jumped in his lap. That would have been an awesome picture! Well... I still got a great picture and he signed my hat. That will have to be good enough. =) Thanks, Rob, for humouring me!! To check out more pics, click on the pic of me and Rob below.
After we had gotten our fill of oggling the players, Ben, Antonio and I decided to watch a couple of the horse races. Antonio and I placed a bet on the first race and we won $16! Yay! We had to stay for the next race, too, because we had obviously caught the Bug. =P The next race we only won $4.50. Oh well. So we quit while we were ahead and left.
When we got back to their place, Antonio and I enjoyed a late lunch at George's Greek Deli, one of our favorite places to eat. We had lamb chops and avgolemono soup followed by baklava. Taaasty!

Introducing: Lincoln!

Matt and Laura got a new kitty. His name is Lincoln. Why Lincoln? He is (as Matt calls him) an equal opportunity kitty. Not only is he black AND white, but he'll pretty much go and hang out with EVERYONE in turn. First he's on Dave's lap, then he moseys over to Laura, then flops down on me for a bit, and then wants to go to Matt. See? He loves everyone! He's three months old and sooo cute! The markings on his head kinda make him look like he's wearing a toupe, and the shape of his face is very long and sweet. Definitely a cute cat with great personality.

SEMA Show 2007

Last week was the SEMA show in Las Vegas. It's this huge convention showcasing aftermarket stuff for cars. Everything from tires to Navi's to dials. I flew in on Thursday night where Dave picked me up. We also met up with his friend Dustin and later with Marco, Brisia, and Hans for a little Blackjack. We spent Friday afternoon at SEMA and met up again with Marco and Brisia. The best part about SEMA? THE SOFT SERVE FROZEN CUSTARD! Yummy. They were there last year and that's what I looked forward to this year. So smooth and creamy.
Later that night Dave and I went to see Zumanity. I saw it the first week that it opened in 2003. Still sexy, still full of firm, perfect bodies. For dinner we went to Lawry's. I love Prime Rib! Dessert was even better. Something called a Chocolate Bag. White and milk chocolate moulded into the shape of a bag filled with berries, double chocolate mousse and whipped cream. There was also Chambord sauce drizzled around it with more berries. Soooo tasty. Especially with the the Chocolate Port.
We did a little shopping at the outlets on Saturday with Amy (my cousin's wife that lives out there) and then headed home. Oh wait... on the way home we went to the Zappos Outlet. Yaaaay!! Of course I bought a pair of really cute shoes! And the we went to the Fry's. Duhh... Of course Las Vegas's Fry's would be a slot machine!! Click on the slot machine for more pics from Vegas.

Spooktacular Halloween!

Yay! I love Halloween. I love to dress up. I used to love Trick O Treating. Well... I still love it, but I don't think I would be able to get candy. =P Dave came over the night before Halloween to carve a pumpkin. I designed it, he carved it. I think it came out pretty cool. Great teamwork!

On Halloween night I trekked up to Fuzzy's in Hollywood. It only took me TWO HOURS in traffic. Bleh. Fortunately for me, Fuzzy was ready with a parking spot and a nice cool glass of water for me when I got there. Yay! We were expecting three others to come: Greg, Jeff, and Ena. Fuzzy had also prepped some ribeyes for dinner. Yummy! She made some Ong Choy veggies for us with garlic and stinky shrimp paste. It was tasty... but as I just said, they were stinky, too! After we had all eaten, we got ready to go out and went to Vanguard for their Halloween Night. Yeah, it was Hip Hop. And yeah, it was about 90% Asian. But we still had a great time. We saw a lot of awesome costumes. Check out pics of the Cat-o-lantern and Halloween night here.

Food and Fun

Although not as crazy as other weekends, this weekend still ended up pretty full. Friday we went to a poker party. Hmm... no pics. Saturday, we went to Andy and Belinda's housewarming/Halloween party where we ran into some killer clowns. Andy made some awesome noodles that I couldn't stop eating. We had a lot of fun playing with their puppy, Fatima and their kitty, Sylvia. They have another kitty that didn't come out to play at all. =( No big deal. Sandy and I were kitty enough! Check out pics here.

Later that evening we went to a performance of Balinese Dancing at El Camino College. The percussion was really amazing and although I felt that the synchronized choreography could have been a bit cleaner I really enjoyed the show. All the moves look really difficult. I wasn't able to get any pictures, but the above is from their website.

We began Sunday with lunch with my parents (pictures here) followed by a trip into Hollywood to go see Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D with John and Miki. Nightmare pics here.

Popsicle Stars

We went to Joshua Tree to camp and watch the Orionids meteor shower. Joshua Tree is up in the high desert near 29 Palms. When we got there, the weather was nice and warm so we decided to go for a drive to explore the rest of the park. We found some really cool boulders to scramble up and down on.

Upon further exploration we found a lonely, but photogenic tree. So we included it in our socializing. Antonio and Ben brought their puppy Franklin. He's a black cocker spaniel about 5 months old and he's sooo cute! He's one of the mellowest little pups I've ever met. He never barked and he wasn't at all hight maintenance. Maybe I just liked him cause he would sit on my lap and just snuggle up. =) The meteor shower itself was a bit thin and it got crrraaazy cold and windy at night, but we still had a good time. We saw a couple of really bright trailer shooting stars. The next morning was just as windy so we leached a little power to run the coffee maker, had breakfast and then packed up to go home. Definitely a fun trip. Check out the pics here.

How to turn yourself into an Anime character...

You know how people go to ComiCon and Cosplay all dressed up like video game and anime characters? Their outfits are always wicked awesome and have incredible detail... except for one flaw. They never get the eyes right. You can dye your hair and add leather and sequins and chrome all you want, but how the heck do you get those freakishly huge eyes?! Like this!!

I think Ana was taking a cue from the kitty clock...