Happy New Year!
We’re still in Tahoe at Dot’s cabin and had a great New Year’s Eve hike yesterday. The weather was a little chilly but comfortable enough for the walk up to the peak. At the top, it overlooked Crystal Bay and the dogs got to run free. It was so much fun to watch Koa run, sniff, and explore off-leash. The view was gorgeous at 7017 feet and it was a good way to end 2011.
The rest of the afternoon and night was spent in the cabin drinking and eating. I even had a tiny sip of champagne at midnight. Happy New Year, Everyone!!! Hope your 2012 will be awesome. I know ours will be pretty exciting!
On Wednesday afternoon, I ran some errands with my mom. I made some returns at the mall and then we went to several places to find some salty chicken for dinner. My mom made Kao Mun Gai (Chicken Rice) for dinner and Brother and Joy came over to join us. It was the perfect last meal before heading back up to SF.
Today we got up at a reasonable time, had Mommy-made waffles and bacon for breakfast, and then headed out. It was a smooth drive up with a stop at In-N-Out in Kettleman City. We got home by 4:30 pm with lots of time to order pizza for dinner and to do the laundry.
On Tuesday night, we had dinner at TGIFriday’s, with Huy, the Fernandos, and Agustins. It was fun to see them all together and I got a bunch of good laughs.
On Wednesday, Jes and I had lunch with Marie and the boys. Jes had his favorite ramen and the boys gobbled up their noodles too. Cole loved his Ninjago kit and Brandon was excited to play with his Cars. 
It’s always great to see the Suminos and makes me miss the days when I would spend random afternoons with them when I lived in Irvine.
Holly made plans for us to meet up for lunch on Tuesday as a mini baby shower for me. I drove Holly and my mom to Santa Monica for a little shopping at a baby supplies boutique and then we met up with Patty and Patti for lunch at Joe’s on Abbot Kinney in Venice. We were seated at a corner table and had a delicious meal. It was also a really good deal! We all had the prix fixe meal of any appetizer, any entree, and any dessert for $19!
Here’s a photo of my chicken ravioli. It was delicious.
The girls gave me some cute and thoughtful gifts for me and Kumquat and the whole event was really sweet. It was also fun having my mom there too. Thanks for planning such a fun afternoon, Hols!
Afterward, I stopped in to see little Andrew when I dropped Holly off at her house. He’s grown quite a bit since I first met him in September. At about 100 days old, he’s smiley and has filled out nicely.
On Monday, I went to the nail spa with Jia and Joy and got a long-overdue pedicure. With my growing tummy it’s getting harder to reach my feet. In addition to a little clean-up of my toes, the lady gave me a nice massage to my calves and ankles. Aaaah.
For lunch, we went to Din Tai Fung for some tasty soupy dumplings. We met up with a couple of Johnny’s friends and Jes and Jason also joined us. We got the juicy pork dumplings, pork fried rice, and the chicken soup. It was all so yummy and we had to be rolled out the door.
Afterward, Brother and Joy took me to Brian’s Shave Ice in West LA. I got a kiddie-sized shave ice with Dole Whip underneath and passion fruit + coconut syrup on top. It was perfectly refreshing.
Koa enjoyed the car ride and we found ourselves in 75-degree weather once we got to The Magical House.
Brother and Joy were already there and they were in charge of dinner that evening. We exchanged gifts that afternoon before dinner and Koa got a new friend. It’s a pretty funny-looking monkey that squeaks and we got a good laugh while he chewed on Crazy Eyes’ head. We got some stuff from Thailand and the highlight gift was Jes’ new beerlao t-shirt.
Dinner consisted of pot roast with gravy and mashed potato, kimchee fried rice, kalbi, and a bunch of pan-chan. It was a bizarre combination but that’s what my parents had requested and it was all tasty.
On Christmas morning, we went to church with Jason and Jia. Pops was giving the message that day so that was cool. We were greeted by old friends of the family and they were all congratulating us on our expected Kumquat. They all said to us, “Your father is very excited to have a granddaughter.”
After church, we stopped at The Magical House to pick up my favorite treat, Sakoo Sai Moo. I ate them up so fast that I didn’t even have the chance to take a photo this time so I’m posting an old photo. It was THAT good. The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent hanging out in Buena Park while the 27-lb standing rib roast cooked in the oven.
The family came over and we stuffed ourselves with prime rib, yorkshire pudding, salad, creamed corn, and Jes’ mom’s sticky rice. I was so full and tired by the end of the night that I went to bed early before everyone had left. I know that comes as a real shocker.
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