Browse Author: beakatude

…and with Beakatude on drums!

dsc_0306a.jpg

On Sunday afternoon, I tagged along with Johnny and Joy.  They were headed over to Shane’s house where he had the new Rock Band game.  It was pretty entertaining.  I got to sing, play guitar, and play the drums (something I’d always wanted to do).  Some songs were pretty difficult and some were just plain funny.  I always have a good laugh when the dying bird (my brother) sings.

p1010008.jpg

Later in the evening, I went to dinner with my parents and Marie’s family.  It was at the usual Thai hangout with my parents being the “regulars” along with his other random friends that also showed up for their evening meal.  Marie and Kenji brought the boys and grandparents.  And once again Brandon was so relaxed in Jesse’s lap while Cole cried and pouted when it was his turn with “Uncle Jesse”.  It’s always fun to share a meal with my family.  Good times…

p1010013a.jpg

That same night, we met up with our old pals for some drinks.  There is no annual Christmas party this year so this was pretty much it.  The usuals were there: the Masayas (including Robert), Jimmy, Huy, the Bangs, the Sokol-Juns, Holly, and Roy.  We even got a special appearance by the youngest Fernando who happened to be there with some of her friends.  Unfortunately, we missed Dayantha, the younger Tranandos, Patti/Howard, and Patty/Johnny.  It was still great to see everyone together again.  It finally feels like Christmas is on its way.

Family Fun Day at the Dentist

dsc_0273a.jpg

Yesterday, I went to see my dentist. He happens to be my cousin. He opened his office on a Sunday for me, Jesse, Johnny, and Jason. It was awesome. Pish brought Debbie and Katie for our entertainment and Joy also come along for kicks. We all got X-Rays taken along with a cleaning and polishing. Johnny and I got some extra special treatment with a filling each. *sigh* Vulnerable teeth seem to run in the family.

dsc_0213.jpg

We had a good time just spending time with each other and watching each other get poked and scraped in the mouth. It was also nice to see Katie again after so many months. She’s growing so fast and seems to like Uncle Johnny quite a bit.

Afterwards we had lunch in Irvine. My anesthetic had worn off by then but Johnny was still struggling to chew and not drool all over himself. It was quite a sight. Anyway, thanks again, Dr. Chamkasem!! You rock!

Here are photos from our morning with Katie and the gang.

Oh no…it’s back.

dsc_0119a.jpgI’m finally on Christmas vacation. We drove down last night and the traffic wasn’t horrible. However, the congestion on I-5 was pretty annoying with sudden brake lights every once in a while.

We arrived in BP around 11-ish and Jason was home. Not only was Jesse excited to see his little brother again but also to start playing WoW again. *sigh* I don’t know how I agreed to this but it’s true. The game that stole my husband for over a year is back. Fortunately for me, they both uninstalled the game from their laptops and have been spending the past 24 hours trying to get the game back onto their computers. So the playing hasn’t started yet and we were able to get out of the house today.

nikkor28-200.jpgI also got to play with one of my Christmas gifts from Jes. He got me the Nikkor 18-200 mm lens and it’s pretty fun so far. It’s nice and compact and the range is great. This has pretty much replaced my trusty kit lens (18-70 mm) and the zoom lens (80-200 mm) that I never use. I’m pretty happy with the lens and I think that this was Jes’ way of smoothing over the WoW-playing for the time being. Curse you, Blizz!!

I choose you!

piplup.jpgBack in the day (circa 1998), I played Pokemon the GameBoy Game and watched the Pokemon cartoon. Some people made fun of me and Jesse thought I was totally retarded but it sure did pay off today at work. I see a set of 8-year-old twin boys for handwriting help and they are obsessed with Pokemon. They hate handwriting but when it comes to Pokemon, they will go on about it forever. Since I see them one-at-a-time for 45 minutes each, I got about an hour and a half of leveling this and badges that. They’re currently playing the Diamond and Pearl versions on their Nintendo DS right now and I have no idea what the characters’ names are. I think that’s the equivalent of Version 4 and I only played Versions 1 and 2. Fortunately for me, the fundamentals of the game haven’t changed much so I was able to hold up my end of the conversation quite well. I think they were even surprised. For example, when one of them said “Piplup is a water type.”, I TOTALLY understood what he was talking about. One of them also said, “Team Rocket is really funny.” And I responded by asking, “Is Meowth still hanging out with them?”. The look on his face was classic. It was a look of shock and confusion, which followed with, “How did YOU know?!” Haha.

Next week, I’m going to make them write sentences about their favorite Pokemons until they feel like their hands will fall off. It’s going to be awesome.

Putts and Pie

p1000977a.jpg

This morning I played 9 holes with Jimmy and Tinou. It was a cold day and the course was pretty crappy. On Hole 5, the green didn’t really look much like a green. In fact, it was yellow and patchy. Overall, I had horrible day on the course but my chip shots weren’t too shabby for a change. The boys pulled through despite the yucky conditions and Jimmy managed to squeak ahead of Tinou by one stroke.

dsc_0021a.jpg

In the afternoon, Jes and I attended Ryan and Michelle’s Pie Party.  There were 3 savory pies and a grip of sweet pies.  We actually voted for our favorite and the savory pork pot pie won.  It was pretty good.  My apple pie didn’t win but it was almost gone by the end of the party so I’d say it wasn’t a complete failure.  Here are photos from the party.

Just like in the cartoons…

dsc_9975a.jpg

Michelle and Ryan are hosting a pie party this afternoon so I decided to bake a traditional apple pie. I actually made the crust from scratch and I LOVE the new French rolling pin that I bought last weekend. Next came the apple filling, which was covered with the top crust and a sprinkling of cinammon and sugar, and then I “put it in the oven for baby and me”. (Haha – that’s a line from “Patty Cake” in case you didn’t know.)

dsc_9979a.jpg

dsc_0003a.jpg

When it came out, it was golden brown and still bubbling inside. In fact, as I was admiring my creation, I noticed that there were little spirals of steam coming out of the vents I cut and thought, “Wow! It’s just like in the cartoons!” All I needed was an open window sill for Tom and Jerry to steal it. So, the final test is this afternoon when I cut it open and serve it to my friends. I also made my Mommy’s Famous Cheesecake as back-up but hopefully they’ll both be winners.