.:: Sunday, December 30, 2007 ::.

we had a really nice visit to the bay for christmas. it was kind of a stressful trip just cuz it was christmas and i was trying to see a lot of ppl while we were there.

we got in pretty late christmas eve and headed straight to W's dad's, hoping to catch a glimpse of our niece A before she left for iowa. she is so cute, and even cuter when she looks up at W and asks "what happened to your whiskers?" (he usually has facial hair, but he shaved this time) we spent most of christmas day with W's dad, stepmom, sister D, and niece E. it was very low key cuz everyone was sick (we were praying we wouldn't leave that house coughing and sniffling too! and so far we're still okay!). we drove up to my parent's house that night.

wednesday we went to lunch with our friends D&A, and their 3 kids. i usually don't care for other ppl's kids when they're this age (12, 10, 8) but D&A's kids are a lot of fun and really cute. i actually look forward to hanging out with them, especially the 10 year old. that night we had dinner with my parents, a sort of belated christmas dinner i guess.

thursday morning i went to breakfast with I and her baby J. J is so adorable, showing off her sign language skills. my favorite was when I asked her "what does santa say?" J says "ho ho ho." so cute!!! after breakfast i headed north to have lunch and hang out a bit with my sorority lil sis A, whom i haven't seen in forever. then back to fremont to spend some girl time with L, M and J. we usually all hang out together as a group w/our husbands (and now babies), so we decided to do a little girl time and get manicures and lattes at the slowest coffee shop ever. we joined the guys for dinner and hung out.

friday after lunch, we headed into the city, where we would stay a night at the ritz-carlton, san francisco. my old director from half moon bay gave me a gift cert for one night's stay there, in a club level executive suite. we wanted to use it during a time where we could just relax and veg all day, and that's what we did! the room was amazing...and the club lounge was awesome!!! if you ever want to splurge and spend way too much on a hotel room, stay on the club level of a ritz-carlton, it's soooo cool. they serve breakfast, afternoon snack, afternoon tea, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, cordials and desserts. everything was soooo delicious!!! i also got to see my old coworker M who now does weddings at RCSF, which was really nice cuz M is one of the sweetest girls i know and is the best wedding planner ever. we had dinner at the house of prime rib which was really good, and went back to the hotel for dessert. yum!!! when we were checking out on saturday, an old man in front of us started chatting with us, and he told us that him and his wife come to the RCSF every year around christmas as their christmas presents to each other, and it's become a tradition for them. i think that's a great idea! we're gonna have to start doing that (we'll probably stay closer to home tho). altho, our room is normally $759 a night, so we'll have to save up in advance. the craziest part was the valet parking...they charge $59 plus tax!!! and in case you're interested in booking the presidential suite, it'll set you back $7000. yikes!

so after we checked out of RCSF on saturday, we took our time driving down the coast and headed toward our friend JK's house, for a little party and UFC fight. we got to see a bunch of old friends, i got to meet JK's new aussie girlfriend, and hang out, and eat a lot, and watch the fight of course. i'm totally not into UFC at all, but it's kinda fun being in a room full of ppl who are so into it and going crazy!

then sunday, today, we got up early to catch our flight back home. it was great to see everyone, but i'm soooooo bummed that J didn't have the baby before/while we were there. :( that baby is getting way too comfortable in that womb!!

i didn't take a whole lot of pics, but here are my favorites: our niece baby E, J signing mickey mouse, R being cute and very still for the camera



as i was going thru my pics, i found these! i took them in november, the 2nd round of leaf clean-up. in all i think we did 3 rounds of clean-up to get rid of all our leaves...i love my trees in the spring and summer, but i hate them in the fall! here's the before and after:

:: joyce 6:11 PM [+]::
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.:: Sunday, December 23, 2007 ::.

i hate wasting my whole entire weekend sitting at home, sick. :( i'm convinced it was the peppermint mocha from starbucks that i got friday morning. i usually get my drinks extra hot, to make sure they heat up the milk enough to kill any little unwanted micro-organisms. but i didn't this time, for unknown reasons. by 10:30am, i felt like i had a fever and i just felt off. i left work a couple hours later, which was good timing cuz it was starting to snow and by later that afternoon, the commute was a nightmare (so i heard). so all day saturday i spent doing much of nothing, cuz everything made me nauseous and that fever would not go away. this morning i woke up feeling much better, but still a little nauseous and now with splitting headache. :( so much i wanted to do this weekend before our trip home for christmas, but oh well. it will just have to wait til our return.

i did finish my book service included which gave a very interesting look at the fine dining restaurant world. it kinda made me miss working in that sort of hectic, crazed, demanding environment, and if i were young and single, would probably want to work in a 4 star restaurant (where i'd be making a six figure salary). but i'm not-so-young and married so my little desk job will have to do for now. :)

i'm looking forward to spending time with friends, hopefully seeing J's new baby (hopefully he's not late!), and of course seeing our families. it's supposed to snow every other day here this week, so i'm glad i won't have to be driving in it!!

now if i could just get rid of this damn headache...

:: joyce 9:09 PM [+]::
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.:: Thursday, December 13, 2007 ::.

W turned one corner of our basement into a little woodworking area! so now he can add carpenter to his resume!



here is the workbench he built:

:: joyce 7:34 PM [+]::
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.:: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 ::.

today i got to experience my first real colorado winter weather commute. it sucked! i want to move back to the old building...i hate this driving in the snow business! it's very stressful and makes me really tense, which i don't like at all. and on my way home, the roads were pretty clear, but still slick so everyone was going around 35-40mph, and this crazy big rig dude decides to come up on my tail way too fast and tailgate!! so i freaked out and moved over to the next lane (i was in W's durango) and as he passed me, i saw it was a big tanker with flammable fluid. and he proceeded to tailgate the next car in front of him. omg, very scary!! it seems winter has hit colorado overnight!! we were enjoying a nice long autumn and then wham! it's nice to see the snow tho, just hate driving in it.

we have a computer hooked up to our TV, and when W needs his laptop for work (like now), i use the computer hooked up to our TV (we have a wireless keyboard for it), so i have a lovely 56" widescreen monitor. lol...it's very BIG.

:: joyce 5:48 PM [+]::
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.:: Thursday, December 06, 2007 ::.

i am so excited about my newest book to read! it sounds very intriguing, and plus it takes place at per se, the 2nd of thomas keller's restaurants (the owner/chef of french laundry...a restaurant i'd like to eat at before i die). it was on NY Times list of 100 books to read (for 2007).

i also got water for elephants and i can't remember who recommended this book to me! whoever it was, thanks!

other books on my amazon wishlist include: eat pray love, highly recommended by a coworker, the eighth promise, found after reading about another book on that NY Times list, and then we came to the end, again from NY Times list.

so many books to read...do i have time?! this is when i really wish i commuted on a train or something, that's the best time to read for me! oh well, it'll have to just be weekends i guess, unless the writer's strike goes on forever, then i'll have to start reading during weeknights!

:: joyce 4:47 PM [+]::
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.:: Monday, December 03, 2007 ::.

i don't know why, but i get really peeved when ppl improperly use the words insure and ensure. ppl...you INSURE your car, and you ENSURE your client gets good customer service. jeez!

so i finally mustered up enough holiday spirit to get out some christmas decorations and decorate the tree. i didn't realize that tree was so heavy! but it's done!

:: joyce 7:44 PM [+]::
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