Tonight it was a family dinner, and also a celebration.
Tom has accepted a job with Caesar Entertainment in Las Vegas! Yes, that is why we were apartment hunting.
He is starting in mid July. We will keep an apartment there since I still have my job here in California. This is a good move for him career wise, but not too good for me in terms of career growth. There is nothing there for my petrochemical industry…so what does this means? We don’t really know. There are too many unknowns at this point, especially since my own employer is selling the asset where I work now in Carson. It will be an interesting year ahead of us. Take a deep breath, and live one day at a time right now. The entire world is upside down and seems to be falling apart anyway. What is one more stress factor…..haha.
Dennis brought in a nice bottle of champagne for the occasion. A nice meal at Honda Ya, a great reason, and a bunch of family, what else can one ask for?
The weather today has been very windy and cold, even though the sun is out, it wasn't a good day for BBQ. Vanessa asked for ribs and chicken wings in advance. She didn't want anything "fancy", just good old trusted food.
For this meal, I basically just threw together what I had in the fridge and pantry when it came to dressing, marinates, and sauces.
The chicken wings were marinated overnight in liquid made up of soy sauce, lemon juice, hoisan sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, sesame oil, and chopped onion. The baby back ribs were dry rubbed with a blend of seasoning, then slow roasted in the oven at 275F for 3 hours, finally basted with BBQ sauce. The green beans were blanched and then coated in a basil pesto with Parmigiano-Reggiano and Parmesan, served cold. I also made a vinaigrette based coleslaws and roasted yellow pepper instead of creamy, since I also prepared a potato salad, a mayonnaise based with mustard, chopped gherkins, and chopped pistachio. Gosh, they were all very yummy.
Here is a picture of Barb and the kids, hitting the ice cream with fresh strawberries for dessert. The adults had the ice cream with chardonnay poached pears and raisins.
I didn't recall who's bright idea it was to have a fishing day out by the husbands. Now that I think of it, maybe it was so the wives could have a day off from the hubbies. After seeing a Travelzoo promotion with Davey's Locker in Newport Beach, all three of them signed up.
It was a party boat, so plenty of people and not too many fish. I don't know if my sisters' husbands were as vocal as mine about his complaints!!! Oh, it was too far, it was too long, it was..... haha..... Anyway, I doubt there would be another fishing trip for a long time.
As for the fish counts, nothing big. There were plenty of Mackerels, a few rock fish, and couple other ones I couldn't recall at the moment. But they all were very bony....
I am not a big fan of mackerels, too fishy. I tried to make it better wrapping bacons around them. But who am I kidding???
I was pondering what to make this Easter for the family brunch. I finally narrowed it down to glazed ham or roasted pork as main. Vanessa voted roasted pork. I love this recipe, but next time I need to shorten the time, a bit overcooked but not too bad! And the green sauce is amazing.
Of course, Tom had the main task to carve the pork for us. And he did a wonderful job.
There was a hilarious Easter egg hunt with the kids at home. It was kind of wet outside, so we had to move the "hunt" into our living room. Not much hunting actually happened, they just grabbed them off tables, chairs, sofa, floor, etc. The few we did hide, well, mommies and daddies had to help hunt them out. It was so funny. Too bad, I don't have any pictures to post, think Vanessa does, I was busy laughing away!
Since we moved into the house, we practically doing all birthday & holiday celebration at our home now. Well, for one thing, I have a big enough table to sit everyone. Secondly, Joanna would cook delicious meal and no clean up needed by anyone else, except for the long drive, it is a great deal every single time!
Month of March, it is Vanessa's birthday. This year, I got her a bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cake as her birthday cake. It was unexpectedly delicious. I got the marble cake with the signature frosting. The kids were licking their fingers going after the frosting.
Finally, some grown up time at Palo, the adult only fine dining restaurant on Disney Cruise Ship. It was difficult to get reservation, but somehow we all ended up there on the same night, sitting at individual twosome tables, attempting to be romantic without the kids around. Grandma had childcare duty with Evan, I think. We did take her here on a brunch, which was awesome too!!!
For the small additional charge, it was well worth it. I wished we could do high tea, but it sold out so fast, we had no chance at all!
Look at these well cleanup parents.
For whatever reason, I didn't have a picture of Tom and me on this night. How could that be?
Yes, we were…even Uncle Tom joined in the fun and allowed a hug from Minnie.
Bright and early, including a morning call from Mickey, we were still late to the character breakfast, where the tables were visited by various Disney characters. The Tams were the last to arrive, but they did catch the last couple characters.
On this night, guests were encouraged to dress up in costumes, in the themes of pirates. Even though we were not in the Caribbean, we found abundance of pirates boarded on this cruise. Even baby Evan was in the right color scheme!
The late night pirate dessert bar looked really great, but the line looked just as intimating. And none of us really needed to bring home the extra pounds….no, no, no, such good discipline even from a pirate.
We arrived at the port in Puerto Vallarta today. This time, we didn’t need to be tendered in, just right onto the land, across from Big K, so much for being uniquely Mexico. Rather than doing water activity here, we opted for a land tour of inner cities and tequila tasting. Not that I were a tequila drinker, but at least the making of tequila would be educational and different than another dip in the same Pacific Ocean. Yes, I am spoiled.
We hopped onto the air conditioned coach bus. Seeing the local life was much more interesting than going to another resort. But at the same time, it was affirmed to me once again, the quality of life is so much different than ours. I wasn’t surprised, most places outside of U.S. are like this, and people have a lot less than we do in the states. Yet, they continue to work hard and seem to be contented with it.
Our first stop was the tequila factory. I was not sure if it was a factory, it looked more like someone’s home. It was a family business place. They are very proud people. In general, I think Mexicans are very proud people. There is a much identifiable culture, family is family; whereas, in America, the definition of family is wide and vary, not necessary in a good way. The staff explained the process from plant to final distillated products. We were given plenty of tasting. All I did was stick my tongue into the tasting cups. I didn’t drink it, it tastes like burning fuel, not that I had lots of experiences with fuel tasting….it was fun, but not anything I wanted to bring home, as it would probably sit there in the cupboard for eternity!
The rest of the day we spent at some small local towns which I couldn’t tell you the names. We were there to see how the local lives, what the towns look like etc. There we were offered freshly made tortilla tasting and home-made ice cream, completely done by manual turning, yes, true manual labor to get that ice cream. It was good on a hot outing day.
Here is a picture of the town church and the ice cream man.
We started our afternoon tour on a catamaran out of Cabo Marina with a Disney tour operator. First thing first, they gave you alcoholic drinks to get you loosen up, chips & salsa to munch on while cruising out of the marina. Seeing other boats and the playful dolphins chasing the wakes was very fun and relaxing.
Not to be missed, we made a brief tour around Playa del Amor (Lover's Beach) and El Arco, where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean at Land's End. The seascape is gorgeous. We did not land on the beach; it would have been nice to claim you had been on a beach that covers two seas (Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean). Well maybe next time.
Looking at Playa del Amor from Sea of Cortez to the Pacific Ocean.
The sun was nice, not too overly bearing, and the breeze helped a lot. Not long after, our attentions were totally captured by the whales. Afterall, our goal was to catch a glimpse of the whale. We were in the right season for such activity. The tour was way beyond our expectation. We saw a few whales pretty close, at least couple kinds according to the resident expert onboard, including the Gray whales and the Humpback whale. And they were surprisingly playful. I learned a few words on their various behaviors.
Breaching - propel their bodies up and out of the water and land with a big splash. This one just started to come out of the water.
Fluking – occur at the end of a deep dive when you see the underside of the tail flukes.
Spyhop - stick their head up and out of the water to look around.
Pectoral slaps - seen when the animal is at the surface. The animal lifts its pectoral fin up and out of the water and then smacks it against the surface.
No other word, just simply AMAZING!!!
Here was Tom waving at me from the lower deck of the catamaran.
Valentine Day morning 2011, here we were in Cabo San Lucas already. I had wanted to see this place for a long time, mainly after reading articles about whale migration during the winter months. And for Tom, it was about fishing.
Our beautiful cruise ship anchoring away from the harbor. We had to tender into the harbor.
Tom and I didn't hang out with the family, as you know, with such a big crowd, like 6 kids, it would be slow moving just to get on land! And we had a tour to catch in the afternoon. We did run into them when we landed. Of course, they were busy hackering prices with over some more useless souvenirs.
Then we hung around to have a quick bit at one of the local restaurants. Ok, not much going on around here, must be low season. And besides, isn't this part of US??? They speak English, and they use American dollars....I am just being mean...This is where all the northern Californian migrating south to catch the sun, what can I say?
It's Valentine Week 2011, and guess what, we were on a Disney Cruise to the Mexican Riviera. Well, this was all because of their promotion of kids sail free with paid adults. Once the my three siblings signed up for their family and grandma, it was difficult to not go with gang! Besides, I had not done the Mexican Riviera.
Then a month before our departure, due to the drug violence in Mexico, our itinerary was altered. Disney eliminated our stop at Mazatlan and replaced with a second stop at Cabo San Lucas. The revised itinerary was not ideal, but there was nothing we could do. It wasn't their fault after all....
First time sailing out of Long Beach terminal, it was great seeing the Long Beach harbor. I always thought of Long Beach being industrial, but it has its moments. Look at the beautiful sunset and the lonely lighthouse out there. This looks like something out of the east coast.
Look at the massive birds taking off at our sail away horn.
We have a sisterly day now and then. This happened to be closed to Brenda’s birthday. So we also included a spa facial day out along with dinner.
Spafinder runs special promotion once a while, not sure of the frequency, but this was the first time we tried out with the 50% off discount. I still have to find a decent massage and facial place locally in the PV area. I figured it was a good time to explore the south bay options. I chose Murad Spa in El Segundo. I have used and seen their products in department stores, never realized they are just a few miles from me!
All three of us had late afternoon appointments for a facial. I had the Resurgence® Renewal Facial. It was ok. I had higher expectation from a brand name. But I felt like it was very much commercialized and not much warmth in the overall experience. Even with the discount, I wasn’t sure if I would return again. That is too bad.
Afterward, we headed to Katsu in Manhattan Beach for some sushi, via recommendation from yelp. Vanessa swears by it now. It was definitely a local hangout place, no atmosphere to speak about. But the sushi is good and fresh, the fish is evenly sliced with only a small rice ball underneath. Brenda still bragged about it afterward. And that is rare.
Here is crispy spicy tuna roll & the rainbow roll, yum….
Too bad on the poor lighting of this photo of the birthday girl.
Both Tom and I have never been to Iowa, at least I don’t think I have. The state is in the middle of the country, not really a vacation spot or a business trip spot for my field. So we didn’t know what to expect, plenty of corn fields???
This was the second "family" event on Tom's family side since our wedding. Lara is Tom's niece. She is the dark hair one. Her partner, Amanda, is the red head. Their wedding site is here.
It was fall in the Midwest now, the air felt different. The ceremony was held in Iowa City, a smaller city, meaning a connecting flight and losing 2 hours flying east. We started early like 6 am on the west coast on Saturday morning, and didn’t reach there until late afternoon local time. Of course, it started to rain when we picked up the rental car. The mist was quite heavy so I didn’t see much along the highway.
We mad dashed to make the rehearsal dinner, hosted by Cheryl, Tom’s second sister. The town is charming, and has a small college town feel. We met up with the rest of the family at the Motley Cow restaurant. That was a big gathering. Tom and I tried to meet both sides of the family. I didn’t know anyone except Tom’s siblings and children. Amanda’s parents are very sweet. The food was very good; the restaurant uses local products wherever possible. They also catered for the ceremony the next day.
We spent the night at the Iowa City Sheraton, uneventful, after a full day of traveling. My hubby did try to find his snack bar and there wasn’t any around. It gave him a good excuse to kick start his attempt to curb midnight snacking.
The weather continues to be misty the next day. Fortunately, by the time of the ceremony, it was not rainy, just majorly overcast.
The outdoor ceremony was held at the Palisades-Kepler State Park. The reception was inside a historical lodge building, very charming. The tables were set up like picnic tables. The head table was set up with vintage linen and a delectable wedding cake was placed there, along with pies baked by Amanda. We were told the couples picked all the Iowa wild flowers themselves.
The ceremony was very nice, with reading from both sides of the family. The reception was catered from Motley Cow, followed by music & dance by the family. The whole event was very sweet and beautiful.
And we got a few family pictures of this event too!
And this was the best surprise found on our way home from the ceremony. So appropriate.
We had a low key Labor Day weekend this year, as I had to fly out to Rotterdam on business on Monday evening. I didn’t want to pack too much before a long international flight.
I didn’t even go all out with an elaborated meal plan. I stuck with the normal stable: grill marinated chicken wings, plus I was sure a bunch other stuff, which I couldn’t remember and had no pictures to prove except for what is in front of this single picture of the Chows!!!
The kids were just playing around, with four of them; we don’t normally have to entertain them. They kind of paired up themselves. Riley & Makayla are the unofficial “mafia pair”, crown after the Cachuma camping trip, when it was obvious that these two are the bullies over the other pair. Picture below to prove, the mafia pair at work, and the loving pair playing harmonious.
The high light was a birthday cake for Makayla. In this family, there are 5 birthdays in the month of September and early October, so a very busy month. Makayla’s was the first one in the month, so we might as well do it for the only girl in the little group! Her mommy was planning a joint birthday party between Makayla and Caden anyway. We got birthday pressies for both of them. A pair of pink boots for Makayla and a box of Pokémon cards for Caden.
I was actually concerned whether the Tam kids understood enough that it was Makayla and Caden’s birthday so they got birthday presents but not them. Vanessa did a good job; there was no tantrum from Riley and Duncan. They helped their mommy to pick out presents for the cousins; that certainly worked!!!
Then there was an ad hoc dance party after the cake…somehow, Duncan got on the bench to play piano, not that he knew how, but pressing any keys make noise was a good exercise. Then he made room for Uncle Tom to sit with him for a duet…very very funny. Next he told us we had to dance when he plays. So both big and little kids all danced around. He kept saying “dance, dance.” Very very cute….
A while back, Vanessa and I bought a spa package from Groupon for Spa Chakra at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Ray. On paper, the deal looked great, something like a 70% off. Immediately after the confirmation, we called to book for a weekend, as we knew it was going to be difficult to get a weekend appointment with ~2000 sold….they should really limit it. There is no way one facility can fill this many appointments.
I went with the Fassage, a seamless blend of a facial to clean out pores and a therapeutic massage that wreaks holistic and healing havoc. Vanessa picked the Exceptional Orchidée Impériale treatment, which includes two facial therapies, two masks, and a detoxifying eye contour treatment that uproots even the most stubborn signposts of aging.
I thought with the branding “Ritz-Carlton”, it would be very luxurious. Well, it was nice, but not something I would pay the listed price for, definitely not “out of this world” category. Beside it being in the brand name hotel and by the water in a pricey area, the spa facility itself was ok. For the price it charged the clients, it should have been a 5-stars rating, but it wasn’t.
Our original appointment was for two weekends earlier, but then one of their therapists had an injury so they had to rebook us. Then the day before when Vanessa called to confirm our appointment, were told it wasn’t this weekend. She was furious and finally able to get our appointments back. Of course, no one told us that the two hours appointment for my Fassage would have a whole hour wait in between. They didn’t even tell us until the hour is up and I found out that “what, I have to sit around for an hour, and then Vanessa had to sit around for an hour after me?” Now if facility is really nice, then maybe I wouldn’t mind. But then we also had dinner plan with family, this was just so unprofessional!
The treatments were nice, but again, nothing spectacular where I would recommend to someone else at full price. But hey, at 70% off, it was a good offer.
As you can see, I have no picture to offer. It wasn’t anything I would be “bragging” about it here….
The funny thing is 2 weeks later, we found out the facility has ceased operations. Huh? Ritz-Carlton closed? Unbelievable, we only found out because we were tempting to change our second appointments to a different weekend…..they just couldn’t accommodate this many people. Actually they should have known that they were closing, but still selling this many vouchers. Good thing that Groupon refunded us!
Today is the arrival date of my newest nephew, Evan. Sandy delivered him via cesarean section just to be on the safe side. He is 6 lb 1oz, 19.5 in, not bad considered he was 3 weeks before full term. Both mommy and baby are well, they stayed at the hospital until Friday just to ensure they both received well care due to past history.
At first, Tom wanted to throw a house warming party along with it. I dragged my feet as I was so not prepared for any kind of entertaining. Of course, Tom’s only work on any party is to tell me who he wants there and get the ice & drinks for the ice chest. And I being the wife, the executive assistance, the host, the cook, the maid, pretty much took care the rest of works that goes with prepping for a party…Yes, so so so not prepare since the house still needs work….
So the invite went out like two weeks before the weekend, and being a popular summer holiday, most invitees already had other plans. So we postponed the housewarming party until later, and just reserved this weekend for a causal small gathering with the immediate family because I could pretty much serve anything I like and I didn’t even have to change or put makeup on!!! Secretly, I was thankful not have to do it.
The Tams & the Chows came over, along with couple cousins from the Tams, who were down here to assist with the Tams’ move from Minnesota to California. During the day, the kids ran around the house, the adults played mahjong. Tom is totally into the game. He was so so proud of his wining that he wanted a picture to show his sister to get the proper scoring…..yes, a big kid.
Here is mom setting up the mahjong table on the deck.
Tom’s wining hand at mahjong.
The gangs around the big dining table. I didn't take pictures of the food. I remember we had yummy chicken wings and spare ribs (after 3.5 hours in the oven at 300 C, the meat was falling off the bones...) Yum....
We caught a funny piece with the kids. As I said the house was not truly ready yet for entertaining. Tom has his big TV in the living room, but we haven’t hooked up the DVD player. So when the kids were screaming for a movie, Tony put the DVD in a little DVD player. The contrast between the big TV and the tiny DVD player is so hilarious. But the kids didn’t care; they had fun either way…. Look carefully, you can see the big TV in the background.
Finally, here is a shot of the fireworks from our deck, taken by Tom’s shaky hand….
Day 4 started with an overcast misty morning (rainy by CA standard), perfect timing for indoor activity and see the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The exhibitions and collections are amazing, especially the seahorses! Since I would never see these sea lives in its natural habitat, this would be the best I can do, in an aquarium. The colors were gorgeous, but no tripod, hands not steady enough for low light exposure. So don’t expect much for these.
Yes, an entire day at the aquarium. Without my sea loving husband to entertain me, by mid afternoon, I had enough of water activity for the day…
I have been enjoying home life in the last few months since "Deep Blue" arrived home in mid June 2018. We spent a lot of time on the water to acquaint with the boat.
