Monterey

jellyfish2.jpgThis past weekend we went to Monterey to visit the fishies at the aquarium. Last week when I checked the weather forecast, it said it was supposed to rain on Saturday but it was actually really nice! The sun was out and there was a full moon at night. The Monterey Bay Aquarium was just as I remembered plus some new additions. The main attraction was the Great White Shark that they had in their deep sea exhibit. I think it was still a juvenile so he was not as big as I expected but his teeth and famous “Jaws” face was still rather intimidating. They also had a Jellyfish exhibit where they framed some of the tanks to make them look like moving paintings. They called it “Living Art”.

For dinner, we ate at Fresh Cream. We had a nice view of the harbor and the food was yummy. The only drawback for Jes was the huge portion size. He ordered lamb and ended up with at least 9 ribs. They also gave us a complimentary strawberry shortcake and port in celebration of our wedding anniversary. That was nice.

In the meantime, Johnny was watching Koa for the weekend. I think they both had a good time together. Koa got to run on the beach, visit the Farmers’ Market, and walk around a new neighborhood with new scents to mark. When we got home last night, the dog crashed since he probably didn’t sleep well in such a new environment. Thanks for the rides and watching the dog, Brother.

Here are photos from this weekend.

my new 5 million dollar home

Jesse and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary today and Jesse got me special present. He called it an anniversary/belated birthday gift. It came in a fancy birthday bag with ribbon and everything! Anyway, when I opened it, I found my Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home! Awesome! It’s the camera bag that I’ve wanted for months and now my Nikon has padding. Sweet….just in time for our trip to Monterey this weekend.

We had dinner at Houston’s tonight and had a lovely time. The only bump in the road was my favorite tuna salad. They changed it on me!! It’s still has really fresh tuna, mango, and avocado. But now it’s missing the greens, ginger, and miso dressing. Now it has a bunch of mint (which I hate), carrots, jicama, and cilantro. *sigh* I guess I’ll have to start ordering the ribs from now on. Heh Heh. The best part of dinner was, of course, the key lime pie. Oh yeah…

And yep, we’re going to Monterey this weekend to visit the fishies again. We’re also leaving Koa Bear with Johnny for two days. Haha. It should be interesting…right, Brother?!

Monkey and Dragon Loot the Town

DSC_0960.jpgMarie brought Cole over and we met up with my neighbor Khai and her 14-month-old boy Lance. We went Trick-or-Treating together this evening and what an adventure it was! Our little monkey and dragon went to about six houses and collected quite a loot! Since it was their first Trick-or-Treat outing, there was some confusion at first. Eventually, they figured out that when the door opens, you stick your hand in a bowl and grab as many colorful wrappers as you can. Cole insisted on tearing into one of the chocolate wrappers and got his first taste of chocolate. It sure was tough prying it out of his hands after that. Lance seemed to enjoy his first real Halloween and hanging out with his new friend Cole. They were so adorable in their pudgy-looking outfits. Here are the photos.

We’re still here?

This afternoon started as usual.  I had a 1:45 meeting for an incoming student.  Those usually last no more than two hours.  Unfortunately, this was not one of those.  First of all, I walked into the room and found fifteen people seated around the table.  Uh, usually there’s no more than maybe eight.  Secondly, this child had 30 goals.  We usually have about 15 and that’s already a lot.  Thirdly, the parents brought an advocate and the three of them collectively usurped most of our time with their incompetence and poor auditory processing.  I had to sit through the entire meeting listening to the nuances of each goal being picked apart one at a time.  I only had 4 of my own to share and they didn’t have much to comment on those.   I guess it still beats having to re-write them or being criticized.  So, not only did I have to sit through all the other goals but mine were brushed over like they were insignficant.  At 5:45 pm, I kindly excused myself.  By then, the sun had set, it was really dark outside, and my office was locked!!  Luckily the custodian was next door mopping the floor and I got in.  Phew!  My car keys were in there!  *sigh*  That was four hours of my life I’ll never get back.

It’s about time.

We were long overdue on fixing the patio. I started the project about a year ago by pulling out most of the weedy reeds (they were so out of control) and dug up the wires that weren’t working anymore.  I guess that wasn’t bad for a girl who doesn’t own a shovel. Yep, I basically used a hand shovel and my bare hands. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any more energy to finish it since the dirt was so hard and difficult to manage.  So, I left quite an unsightly mess in the planter for about a year. I also wanted to redo the side plot where the maple lives. It’s gone through some crazy rain, hungry  neighborhood rabbits, and dogs running through it. It was time to replace most of the shrubs.

So, in celebration of the last day of Daylight Saving Time, we decided to fix it up with a little help from the nursery down the street. Sure, we could have done it ourselves but it would have take at least two or three days and wouldn’t look nearly as nice. Instead, we went to the nursery on Saturday around noon, picked out what we wanted, asked for a quote on planting it, and forked over the money. They showed up at 4:30 pm the same day, dug up all the old stuff including the hard clay dirt, installed all the plants and flowers, and put in new soil all in one hour. Of course there were three guys but man, that was fast! Ah…I feel much better now. By the way, the time change totally rules. Having an extra hour in the morning will definitely help me get to work on time now.

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carpool

Last night my photography class was at Cypress College.  That’s where my instructor does some of his work and he thought that it would be good for us to see an exhibit of photographs along with all the studio equipment there.  There’s an older Chinese lady in my class who asked me last week if she could come with me since she was afraid to drive somewhere new at night.  She’s retired now and visiting her daughter for six months.  She’s staying at her daughter’s home, which happens to be just up the street from me!  I was hesitant at first, thinking it would be awkward but just called her up yesterday afternoon and offered her a ride anyway.  She turned out to be a very nice lady and could practically be my mom.  Her eldest daughter is also 31 years old and just got married this past summer.  We had a nice conversation about a variety of things including her pottery class, a new exhibit at the Bowers Museum, and how I grew up so similarly to her own children.  I found her company to be very pleasant and sorta comforting.  I can also say now that I’ve made a new friend in the neighborhood.  Â