Browse Category: outta here

My Passport

The picture above was taken on our way to the airport in 2004.  (Happy Birthday, Huy!!)  It’s crazy that it’s been 10 years since I last renewed and I’ve had a pretty good run!  My passport just expired this past January and as I was filling out the paperwork for the renewal I flipped through the pages of stamps that I had inside.

Here’s a list of the places I’ve been:

Costa Rica – June 2004 (my first international trip in 18 years)
Thailand – December 2005/January 2006
Belize and Guatemala – September 2008
Italy – September 2009
London and Paris – September 2010

Phew!  What fun!

With this renewal looming for the past couple months, I put off getting my photo taken once again.  I FINALLY took my new photo last weekend at Walgreens while I was out running errands and thankfully my hair was brushed and I hadn’t just woken up.  ‘Cuz that’s what happened last time.

Back in 2001, I was living at home in Cerritos and I was putting off renewing my passport for several months.  My mom was tired of reminding me so one morning she woke me up in a hurry and said, “Get dressed, we’re going to AAA to get your passport picture taken.” I was given just enough time to brush my teeth and put my contacts on.  I was still in the t-shirt I was sleeping in and my hair was a mess.  The guy behind the camera clicked the camera so quickly without counting or anything and it was done.  Unfortunately, when I got the photos, I looked like a refugee with my hair sticking out on one side, my t-shirt collar all crooked and wrinkled, and my face and eyes were swollen.  I must admit it was a picture of supreme hotness.  At the moment I didn’t really care and mailed it in with my application but later on I regretted not taking a new one.  Jes always makes fun of me each time we go through customs and says in a gruff voice, “Let me into your country.  I want to eat your children.”  Great…he’s so supportive….  I’ve even had the guy behind the customs window make a double-take after looking at my passport!  This happened not just once but several times.  Wah. Waaah….

So my new photo has been taken and the application is ready to be mailed.  Pretty soon I should be ready to travel for the next 10 years with a less-embarrassing photo.  And no, I’m not going to post my refugee photo.

Wine and Sunshine

On Saturday after lunch, we drove up to Napa and brought the dog along for the ride.  We got an early check-in at the Westin, dropped off the dog, and headed out to Far Niente where they were holding their Cabernet Release Party.

We got there at about 3 pm and spent the afternoon tasting lots of wine and snacking on a variety of appetizers that were passed around.  It’s a fun event since it’s in their maze-like cave system where there’s either another tasting station or a server with a platter of goodies around each corner.  My favorite was their 2006.  Of course at the end, we got a glass of Dolce dessert wine and an assortment of petit fours.  Mm…

Afterward, we went outside to enjoy the late afternoon sunlight with a cappuccino provided by the servers at the exit.  They have a nice grassy area down the hill and it was so nice to be outside in warm weather for a change.

For dinner, we went to Ad Hoc.  Our reservation was at 9:30, which was perfect considering we had stuffed ourselves so late in the afternoon.  We had a great time and everything was delicious!  Here’s the menu for the evening:

The prime rib had a nice salty crust and the buttermilk onion rings were so yummy. Dog even got to have some when we brought back a box of meat scaps for him.

My favorite was the apple tart…it was perfect.

On Sunday morning, we went down the street to The Model Bakery, which was featured in “The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Local Favorites”.  The episode featured their famous English Muffins and it’s true…they’re tasty.  The muffin is fluffy and chewy – different from your usual Thomas’ English Muffin.  Mine was used to make a breakfast sandwich of canadian bacon, egg, and cheese.  Yum.

Here are the rest of the photos from our overnight trip.

A Gift from Mommy

When we were in Italy, we stayed in a cute hotel in Florence where they served breakfast every morning.  One of our favorite things to eat there was the soft-boiled egg that they would make for us and serve on a little egg holder.  When we got back, Jes talked about it a few times and my mom remembered.  So for Christmas, she bought Jes a pair of egg cups from Crate and Barrel.  Thanks, Mommy!  Last weekend I made a soft-boiled egg and overcooked it.  Aw shucks.

Maybe I need this iPad app.

More Post-Christmas Meals

On Tuesday, we had an impromptu lunch with the family including my parents, Jes’ parents, the Suminos, Jason and Jia, and Marie’s parents!  Good thing we planned on having dim sum because they can accommodate a table for 13.

It was so much fun to see the boys again and Brandon sang “Joy to the World” for me.

I promised that they’d get a surprise if they ate all their food and were so excited to open their Christmas gifts. Cole even gave his Uncle Jesse a big thank-you hug.

After lunch, we took Jason and Jia to the airport and then spent the afternoon just kickin’ it in the Magical House.  Later that evening, we met up with the Sokol-Juns who were sans children.  We shared a big meal of Japanese BBQ with at a taste of almost every part of the cow.  It’s a place called Tsuruhashi and it’s hidden away in Fountain Valley.  Good times…

On Wednesday morning, we headed out for our drive back to SF.  It started out pretty rainy and hit a little bit of traffic in Commerce but once we were out of the Grapevine, the rain stopped and the sun came out.  I think we saw 4 rainbows on our way home! Too bad I was driving while it all happened so I have no photos to show for them.

Dog did a good job just hanging out in the backseat again but seemed relieved to be back in his bed again.

Here are photos from our Christmas Vacation in Southern California.

Post-Christmas Festivities

On Sunday, I picked up Holly and we spent the afternoon at Huntington Beach for a long walk and some catching up.  Afterward, we headed to Irvine to visit Patty and Johnny’s new house where a bunch of old friends from Whitney were gathered with all their little children for the evening.  It was a brief but very cool reunion.

For dinner, we drove back to Cerritos for a dinner gathering.  We shared pitchers of Hite, chicken wings, and bulgogi pizza.  It was so fun to have everyone together in one place.  Times like this make me miss our Christmas parties in Irvine.

On Monday, I drove to El Segundo with Joy to pick up Brother for lunch at Simmzy’s.  We spent a couple hours in Manhattan Beach where the sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm outside.  We took Koa along for the ride and after sniffing and peeing along the beach, we had to tie him up outside of the restaurant.  To minimize the barking that usually occurs when strangers try to pet him, I posted a sign on him.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in Cerritos at my parents’ house until it was time for dinner.  We met up again that night and had some tasty Korean BBQ at Shik Do Rak.

Christmas

We spent Christmas Day in the house with the exception of taking a preemptive 3-mile run in the morning.  The brothers got matching outfits from their mom again and Jia and I each got another coat.  We had leftovers from 3 different meals from the day before and hung out in our pjs playing games and making dinner.

Jes prepared a standing rib roast while we worked together to warm up the pre-cooked turkey and honey ham that his mom bought.  For dinner, we had WAY too much food but it was still fun.